Strategic Plan
“MomentUM: Leading Change Together” is the plan defines who we are and outlines are commitments and strategic goals.
MomentUM: Leading Change Together
University of Manitoba Strategic Plan 2024 – 2029
UM is a unique and extraordinary community that does great things. Together, we can do even more. Let’s continue to be creative, be curious, be bold, be engaged, and think big.
Michael Benarroch
President and Vice-Chancellor
Our plan to lead change together
Grounded in UM’s mission, vision and core values, and in the spirit of Reconciliation and collaboration, we will respectfully lead change and shape a brighter future for all.
Commitments
Guiding how we move forward together are our fundamental commitments to:
- Fostering a vibrant community
- Advancing Reconciliation for transformative change
- Building a sustainable future
Strategic themes
Over the next five years, we will work together to achieve our goals across three interconnected strategic themes:
- Creating knowledge that matters
- Empowering learners
- Reimagining engagement
Creating knowledge that matters
In leading change, UM will demonstrate advancements in exceptional research, scholarship and creative activities to create knowledge that matters and that positively impacts the communities with whom we engage. UM will be increasingly sought out for our expertise and recognized for our contributions.
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Creating knowledge
Goal:
Inspire knowledge creation by supporting and promoting an environment of excellence.
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Creating knowledge
Goal:
Build reciprocal relationships with communities to anticipate and identify solutions to emerging societal, cultural, economic, health and environmental needs of Manitoba and beyond.
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Creating knowledge
Goal:
Identify sustainable and high-impact solutions through increased collaboration and connection across our campuses.
Empowering learners
In leading change, UM will empower learners through learning experiences that meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. We will provide researchers, instructors, staff and learners with the knowledge, skills and supports they need to achieve their goals.
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Empowering learners
Goal:
Respond to changing needs of learners through the creation and advancement of supportive systems for learning and success.
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Empowering learners
Goal:
Build sustainable futures for learners by increasing opportunities for innovative and meaningful learning experiences.
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Empowering learners
Goal:
Foster an exceptional student experience by strengthening teaching and student support services across the university.
Reimagining engagement
In leading change, UM will be a partner of choice with the greater community. We will be a destination to learn, create, work, and play. In reimagining engagement, we will connect and thrive as a community for today and tomorrow.
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Reimagining engagement
Goal:
Strengthen and build mutually beneficial and reciprocal external relationships through meaningful and authentic engagement.
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Reimagining engagement
Goal:
Empower staff, faculty, and students to thrive and succeed by creating a culture of belonging, well-being and inclusion.
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Reimagining engagement
Goal:
Achieve sustainability and accessibility targets through community decision-making processes and institutional initiatives.
How we get there
This is a university plan informed by our community. We appreciate your engagement, support, and the energy you have invested in sharing your ideas and aspirations.
Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Provost and Vice - President (Academic)
Implementing MomentUM
Implementation Plan
The MomentUM Implementation Plan marks UM’s next steps on a shared path defined by the goals and commitments articulated in the strategic plan. While the strategic plan defines where we want to go, the implementation plan focuses on how we will get there and how we identify where we are on the path. This plan recognizes that our success is rooted in reciprocal relationship building, in how we collectively work together as an institution, and in how we engage and work with community partners to take action to achieve the goals set out in ‘MomentUM’.
The implementation plan was shared with the UM Senate and Board of Governors in June 2025. More information will be added to this webpage over summer 2025 and next steps shared with the community in early fall. In the meantime, faculty and staff can visit the intranet page, MomentUM Implementation, to explore a list of guiding or sample actions they can take to help move forward the goals of the plan. This list will be updated to reflect different actions and initiatives identified through the implementation work so that they can serve as inspiration for others.
Responsibility to witnesses
To meaningfully action our new strategic plan, a Witness Ceremony was held at the MomentUM launch event. The term “witness” is a reference to the Indigenous principle of witnessing, which varies among First Nations, Métis and Inuit. Through witnessing by honoured and respected guests, the event or work that is undertaken is validated and provided legitimacy.
Four witnesses from the UM Indigenous community who represent Elders, faculty, students and staff will bring the MomentUM launch history back to their internal and external communities and inspire their peers to sew Reconciliation into discussions and actions as it has been woven into the strategic plan.
MomentUM Implementation Steering Committee
The MomentUM: Implementation Steering Committee is chaired by the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and includes representation from faculty, staff, students, and senior administration. The committee’s mandate is to oversee the implementation of the strategic plan and to ensure that the work aligns with institutional goals and strategies articulated in ‘MomentUM’ and other institutional plans. It is responsible for monitoring and communicating progress, identifying any challenges we may face in advancing our goals, and recommending changes as appropriate. Members also serve as community ambassadors to promote ‘MomentUM’ and encourage units in their own actions and initiatives that move us forward.
This work is supported by the Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Committee. The advisory committee includes faculty, staff, students, Elders, and the Witnesses to the launch of ‘MomentUM’. It supports UM’s commitment to advancing Truth and Reconciliation and provides guidance to the implementation committee, to academic and administrative units, and to the broader UM community to help move forward the commitments of Time for Action: UM’s Truth and Reconciliation Framework.
Committee membership
- Chair: Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Provost and Vice-President (Academic)
- Jeff Adams, Registrar and Executive Director, Enrolment Services
- Naomi Andrew, Vice-President (Administration)
- Angie Bruce, Vice-President (Indigenous)
- Sharon Bruce, Professor, Max Rady College of Medicine
- Terry Bunio, Director, I.S.T. Planning and Governance
- Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity)
- Christine Cyr, Associate Vice-President (Indigenous), Students, Community, and Cultural Integration
- Cassandra Davidson, Academic Planning and Priorities Specialist, Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic)
- Raman Dhaliwal, Associate Vice-President (Administration)
- Kelsey Evans, Associate Director, Office of the President
- Brenda Gunn, Professor, Faculty of Law
- Heaven Kaur, student, UMSU VP university affairs
- Vanessa Koldingnes, Vice-President (External)
- Kelley Main, Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies
- Peter Nickerson, Vice-Provost (Health Sciences) and Dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
- Timilehin Oluwajuyitan, student UMGSA president
- Catherine-Grace Peters, Director, University Communications
- Susan Prentice, Professor, Faculty of Arts
- Randy Roller, Executive Director, Office of Institutional Analysis
- Jillian Seniuk Cizek, Associate Professor, Price Faculty of Engineering
- Prabhnoor Singh, student, UMSU president
- Greg Smith, Vice-Provost (Academic Planning and Programs)
- John Sorenson, senate representative, Associate Head, Dept. of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
- Allison Stephen, Director, Office of the Vice-President (Research and International); delegate for Vice-President (Research and International)
- Sarah Teetzel, senate representative, Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management
- Louella Yambot, Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator, Desautels Faculty of Music and School of Art
A shared vision
Faculty, staff, and students contributed to a new community mural by submitting their answer to the prompt, “My UM will be …” The bold, colourful art installation brings to life UM’s new strategic plan and reminds viewers of the university community’s shared goals and aspirations for a brighter future.
UM Institutional plans
Explore the plans that guide us and drives us to learn, understand and innovate, to bring together diverse voices and perspectives and to build a better future for our university, community, province and world.