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authority records
Corporate body

"You Can't Beat Fun"

  • youcantbeatfun
  • Corporate body
  • 1940-2002

The musical “You Can’t Beat Fun” was originally conceived and musically written by 19-year-old pianist Sam Seetner in 1939, a 2nd year Science student at the University of Manitoba, with the help of two of his friends Earl J. Beattie (book), and Edward Parker (stage conception). Seetner and Beattie wrote the lyrics. The production was staged by over 40 University of Manitoba music students (including future game show host “Monty Hall”) on January 11th -13th, & 15th, 1940 at the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium. The story follows the love lives of four college freshmen who enter a university beset by cut backs and reduced to four faculties: Love, Rhythm, Home Economics and "Hotcha."

In 2002 the production was revived to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the University of Manitoba. It played February 20 - 22, 2002 at the Walker Theatre.

Winnipeg Tribune

  • tribune
  • Corporate body
  • 1890-1980

The Winnipeg Tribune, one of western Canada's oldest newspapers, was founded in 1890 by L.R. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who scraped together $7000 to take over the press and premises of the old Winnipeg Sun. Struggling under the restraints of outdated equipment and no telegraph service, the new paper survived and with the aid of Winnipeg's growing population and economic boom fast became a viable alternative to the rival Winnipeg Free Press. While primarily regarded as an independent liberal paper covering local events and personalities, the Tribune also reported on national and international news. After 90 years of operation, the Winnipeg Tribune ceased publication unexpectedly in August of 1980 as a result of negotiations between competing newspaper chains.

Winnipeg Spiritualist Church

  • MSS 425 (A13-139)
  • Corporate body
  • [1952]-2012

The Winnipeg Spiritualist Church, also known as the Winnipeg Psychic Society, was a small congregation that existed in Winnipeg from the date of its founding by Reverend Evan Clarke, among others, in the early 1950s until its dispersal in 2012. In its early years, the congregation was called The Spiritualist Church of Divine Truth; its name was changed to the Winnipeg Spiritualist Church in 1954, and also came to be known as a society in the 1960s. In 1984 the name Winnipeg Spiritualist Church was re-adopted, as well as incorporated, and the name Winnipeg Psychic Society became a name notation for the church. Upon its founding, the objectives of the Winnipeg Spiritualist Church were defined as the advancement and promotion of the religion of Spiritualism in Southern Manitoba, the education of future healers and demonstrators of Spiritualism, furtherance of the works of the Spiritualistic Society, and a commitment to charitable works. The church and its members upheld and promoted a belief in the seven principles of Spiritualism: 1) The Fatherhood of God; 2) The Brotherhood of man; 3) The communion of spirits and the ministry of angels; 4) The continuous existence of the human soul; 5) Personal responsibility; 6) Compensation and retribution hereafter for all good and evil deeds done on Earth and 7) Eternal progress open to every human soul. The small congregation did their best to further develop the Spiritualist community in Winnipeg by holding annual psychic teas, hosting classes or workshops on topics such as clairvoyant development, palmistry, symbology, dream interpretation, past life regression or spiritual evolution, and by hiring visiting mediums, such as Gaye Muir, to attend the church and exhibit evidence of psychic phenomena and life after death.

The Winnipeg Spiritualist Church was originally located on Notre Dame Avenue in Winnipeg, and moved to a building at 293 Kennedy Street in the early 1980s , followed by a move to 295 Broadway in 1986. In the autumn of 1989 the small congregation purchased the building at 1551 Arlington, and, after many months of renovations, held the Grand Opening Ceremony of the new building on Dec. 3, 1989. Services at the Winnipeg Spiritualist Church were held twice on Sundays; one service in the morning and another in the evening. In addition, a healing service was held on Sunday mornings. Services consisted of a combination of aura cleansing and energizing, guided meditation, healing, the presence of clairvoyants, singing of hymns or worshipful songs, and a message in accordance with the principles agreed upon by the church, in an effort to promote and expand the understanding of Spiritualism. The small church, numbering approximately 20-80 members throughout the years, survived financially upon the generous donations of its members, one of whom accepted the mortgage of the church building at 1551 Arlington under her own name. Also conducive to the financial stability of the church were social hours, workshops, demonstrations, evenings of clairvoyance, annual psychic teas and other fundraisers hosted by the church and its members for small costs, as well as the fees paid yearly by members of the church. A Board of Directors made up of 5-9 members led the church. The leadership positions were filled by members of the church, and were newly voted upon and elected by fellow members of the congregation each year. Aside from membership disputes in 1992, relationships between the members and leaders of the Winnipeg Spiritualist Church were harmonious. The positions of leadership changed hands often until the election of Reverend Linda Zagozewski as president of the congregation in 1989; Zagozewski was a board member and/or president of the small church from 1986 until her death in 2005. After the death of Zagozewski, her husband Reverend Duncan Wilson became president of the small church until his own death in 2012. Without anyone to carry forward the role of leadership in the dwindling congregation, the remaining members chose to disperse the funds, library materials and records of the Winnipeg Spiritualist Church to the Survival Research Institute of Canada and the Universty of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, among other organizations. The hopes of the members upon the dispersal of the Winnipeg Spiritualist Church were that the funds and materials of the church donated to various institutions would be carried forward in the furtherance of research and the understanding of Spiritualism.

Winnipeg Public Library

  • wpl
  • Corporate body
  • 1905-

The first public library in Winnipeg, located at 380 William Avenue, opened in 1905. Since then the library system has expanded to 20 branches throughout Winnipeg, providing programming for children, youth, and adults.

Winnipeg Music Competition Festival

  • Corporate body
  • 1915-1988

The Winnipeg Music Competition Festival was known as the Men's Music Club until 1988. The Club was founded by a group of 40 businessmen in December 1915 for the purpose of promoting the art of music. Recitals were held initially every Saturday evening at the Royal Alexander Hotel. Within the first couple of years membership figures averaged around 120, of which approximately thirty per cent were professional musicians. In 1916 the Club organized a Male Voice Quartet which eventually became the famous Winnipeg Male Voice Choir under the leadership of Hugh Ross. In 1919 the Manitoba Musical Competition Festival was organized followed by the Boys Choir under the conductorship of Miss Ethel Kinley in 1925. The Philharmonic Choir was formed independently in 1922 under the leadership of the Club conductor, Hugh Ross. The Philharmonic Choir was taken over by the Club as one of its sections. In 1946 the Civic Music League was formed by the Club and, through it, the formation of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. In 1987 the Men's Music Club became known as the Winnipeg Music Competition Festival, Inc. following increased involvement from the Women's Committee. The group disbanded the following year.

Winnipeg Jets

  • wj_programs
  • Corporate body
  • 1972-1996

The Winnipeg Jets programs were donated by Ken Turner who was a season ticket holder and attended nearly all of the Winnipeg Jets home games, collecting 741 home game programs. Ken Turner is an exemplar of the fan devotion to the Jets from their inception in the early 1970s to long after their move to Phoenix.

From 1972 to 1996, the Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Jets were first established as a charter franchise of the World Hockey Association in 1972 and continued to play in the WHA until its merger with the National Hockey League in 1979. The Winnipeg Jets were the most successful team of the WHA and made it to the finals five out of the WHA’s seven seasons, and won the Avco World Trophy three times (1975-76, 1977-78, and 1978-79). In their first season the Jets signed National Hockey League star forward Bobby Hull to a record 2.75 million dollar ten year contract. The Jets were the first North American team to seriously recruit players from Europe whose style had previously been viewed as inappropriate for North American ice hockey. Swedish defenceman Lars-Erik Sjoberg served as the team’s captain for four seasons, and was widely considered the best defenceman of the WHA. Swedish forwards Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson along with Hull formed “the Hot Line,” the most famous and successful forward line in the WHA. In the last season of the WHA the Jets won the Avco World Trophy against the Edmonton Oilers and their star player Wayne Gretzky.

The World Hockey Association folded in 1979 and the Jets, and three other WHA teams, joined the NHL and played their first game on October 10, 1979 against the Pittsburg Penguins. After a dreadful first season, the Jets signed their future lead scorer Dale Hawerchuk in August 1981 where he led them to their first of eleven appearances in the Playoffs. Hawerchuk would play for the Jets until 1990, and he along with Hull, and defenceman Serge Savard, who played for the Jets for the last two seasons of his career after seventeen seasons with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, would enter the Hockey Hall of Fame located in Toronto, Ontario. Thomas Steen debuted in the 1981-82 season and played for fourteen seasons as a Jet, accumulating 950 games, the most in the history of the Jets. His number, along with Hull’s, were the only numbers retired by the franchise. Despite solid regular-season success the Jets had no success in the playoffs, because, perhaps, of the structuring of the NHL. In order to advance to the Conference Finals the Jets had to beat, sometimes both, the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames who were, by many accounts, considered the two best teams in the NHL for most of the 1980s.

As the NHL expanded in the United States operating costs and salaries grew rapidly, and the Jets faced difficult financial circumstances due both to the differences in the Canadian and American exchange rate, and Winnipeg’s status, as of 1996, as the NHL’s smallest market. After facing financial difficulties throughout the 1990s, and despite avid fan support, on April 28, 1996 the Jets played their last NHL game in Winnipeg, a playoff loss against the Detroit Red Wings, before the franchise was sold to Phoenix, Arizona where it was renamed the Phoenix Coyotes. Nostalgia and fan support for the Winnipeg Jets continued long after the team left the city, and in May 2011 it was announced by True North Sports and Entertainment that the NHL was returning to Winnipeg with the purchase of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise.

Winnipeg Gay Media Collective

  • Corporate body
  • 1980-1993

The Winnipeg Gay Media Collective began in 1980 from a small group of gay activists whom had produced weekly half-hour radio programs, starting in 1978, on the University of Manitoba radio station CJUM-FM (Gay Christian Witness and Gaysweek). These programs were initially sponsored by the gay non-denominational organization Council on Homosexuality & Religion. From the closing of CJUM in the spring of 1980, the Winnipeg Gay Media Collective began with the broadcasting of a new weekly gay half-hour TV program on cable channel 13 called Coming Out! The program ran from 1980 to 1986 and featurred interviews with both local and international gay and non-gay guests. The topics of each broadcast were varied but focused on gay cultural, social and political issues.

Winnipeg Gay and Lesbian Resource Centre

  • Corporate body
  • 1983-1999

The Manitoba Gay and Lesbian Archives collection is the result of concerted efforts by the Winnipeg Gay/Lesbian Resource Centre (est.1983) staff to compile records about Manitoba’s LGBTTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirit and Queer) history. The Archives, established in 1988, was overseen by the Manitoba Gay/Lesbian Archives Committee, a group composed of academics, community members and activists. Primary objectives of the Archives was to preserve the documentary, photographic, and electronic heritage of gay and lesbian Manitobans and to support the research and study of such a collection by scholars and the public. This material was largely collected and accumulated from the donations of local Winnipeg LGBTTQ organizations dating back to the early 1970s. Organizations such as the University of Manitoba student organization Gays for Equality (est. 1973), the Oscar Wilde Memorial Society (est. 1980), Council on Homosexuality and Religion (est. 1978) and Project Lambda (est. 1977) figure prominently in the history of the Winnipeg LGBTTQ community, thus contributing a great deal to the archival content. The largely volunteer staff, namely Chris Vogel and Kenneth Steffenson, of the Resource Centre received archival training over a five year period from the Association of Manitoba Archivists. This training formed the accessioning and cataloguing of the archival material in an efficient and systematized way, leading to an established archival holding recognized by many professional associations and archives in Canada. The archival material was consistently expanded through an active collection policy which advertised in newspapers and gay journals asking the community for records, specifically in the form of oral interviews. An oral history project was undertaken in 1989 by the Resource Centre, through a sponsored grant from the Provincial Archives of Manitoba, to collect the histories of gay men and women who were active in Manitoba prior to 1970. This project provides an important example of the community response to maintaining a consistent record of LGBTTQ history in Manitoba. For scholars, the oral history project is an important groundwork which will be expanded with future efforts to continue to collect oral histories from the 1970s onward.

The Winnipeg Gay/Lesbian Resource Centre was founded in 1983 by the concerted efforts of the Winnipeg LGBTTQ community to raise funds and establish a safe and friendly meeting space. As vocalized by Project Lambda, the goal was to 'provide counseling for gays, a medical centre, a library with positive gay literature, a book shop, a TV room, rooms for lectures and discussions as well as offices for gay organizations.' Fundraisers held at The Old Fellows' Temple on Kennedy Street by various organizations contributed to the realization of this goal. The original location of the Winnipeg Gay Centre was at 275 Sherbrook Street, next door to the gay community space/bar, Giovanni’s Room. The Centre officially began when the campus gay organization Gays for Equality relocated there. In July of 1988 the Winnipeg Gay/Lesbian Resource Centre moved out of Giovanni’s Room to new offices at 222 Osborne Street. This new location made room for the growing archival collection and the intent to meet the community's needs. In September of 1999 the Winnipeg Gay/Lesbian Resource Centre received a name change to Rainbow Resource Centre and relocated to 170 Scott Street.

Winnipeg Commodity Clearing Ltd.

  • winnipegcc
  • Corporate body
  • 1901-1999

The Winnipeg Commodity Clearing Ltd. was a commodity futures clearing business. It was incorporated in June 1901 under the Corporations Act of the Province of Manitoba as the Winnipeg Grain and Produce Clearing Association. Its sole purpose upon inception was to clear trades effected through the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. It began doing so in February 1904. In later years, the WCCL cleared Commodity Futures and Options transactions for the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. This function included ensuring that every trade had an appropriate counter-party, paying and collecting funds as a result of trading, and arranging for the delivery or exercise of items traded.

The Winnipeg Commodity Clearing Ltd. was a member-owned company consisting of numerous shareholders. Only good standing members of the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange could become shareholders. The WCCL was governed by the Canadian Grain Commission, as well as by a Board of Directors, all of whom were representatives of clearing members or clearing members themselves with the exception of one who was an outside director. Board members were elected by shareholders on an annual basis.

In August 1998, the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange ended its nearly century-long association with the Winnipeg Commodity Clearing Ltd. when it announced that their new clearing provider would be the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC). The Winnipeg Commodity Clearing Ltd. dissolved and ceased operations on July 31, 1999.

Winnipeg Citizen

  • Corporate body
  • 1919, 1948-1949

The Winnipeg Citizen was published as an anti-labour paper by the Citizens Committee of 1000 during the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919. The paper reappeared between 1948 and 1949 in response to the typographical union's strike against the other Winnipeg newspapers. The first paper was published the morning of March 1, 1948. The paper continued its production run until April 13, 1949.

Western Region Canadian Association of University Schools of Nursing

  • wrcausn
  • Corporate body
  • 1969-

WRCAUSN was founded in 1969 to provide a forum for the concerns of nursing educators in the four western provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia). WRCAUSN is one of the regional branches of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), but unlike CASN it allows both institutional and individual members. Annual meetings are hosted by an institutional member and the organization is governed by an elected executive (president, vice-president, secretary-treasurer, and members-at-large).

Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association

  • wcwga
  • Corporate body
  • 1970-2003

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is a non-profit, voluntary farm organization founded in 1970 as Palliser Triangle Wheat Growers Association. The first president of the Association was Wally Nelson. The Association helps individual wheat farmers to represent their interest to government and other sectors of the agriculture. The Association head office is in Regina. Revision of the Association name to Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association happened in 1985. The president of the Association at that time was George Fletcher. The Board of Directors is elected at the annual conventions. WCWGA is active and strives for establishment of the flexible system for individual farmers to maximize their profitability. The Association is entirely supported by member contributions.

University Relations Division

  • Corporate body
  • 1987-

The University Relations Division was established in 1987 with Bob Raeburn as its Executive Director. It reported directly to the University President. In 1999, it was reconstituted as the University External Relations headed by the Vice-President (External). It still reports directly to the University President. University Relations Division and its successor, University External Relations, are the sections of the University of Manitoba administration responsible for informing the campus and the community about the university.

University Relations and Information Office

  • Corporate body
  • 1958-

The University Relations and Information Office was created in 1958 to publicize events at the University of Manitoba through various forms of media. Operating directly under the authority of the President, the Office prepared articles, press releases and public displays. The Office financed Alumni Association activities and publications such as the Alumni Journal. Eventually the Alumni Association assumed the public relations arm for University alumni while internal University news was covered by the Information Office through publication of the bi-monthly newspaper, The Bulletin. In 1960, secretarial staff was added to the Office, and the Public Relations Officer and Information Assistant became the Executive Director of the Alumni Association and Associate Editor of the Alumni Journal, respectively.

University of Manitoba Students' Union

  • umsu
  • Corporate body
  • 1919-

The University of Manitoba Students' Union is the governing student organization of the university and acts as the students' representative in improving students' academic and campus life experiences. UMSU was founded in 1919 in order to represent the students as a united group. UMSU's early activities centred upon organizing social events and producing publications such as the University of Manitoba Phone Book (1920-1985; 1991-1992). However, as Canadian society changed and the importance of the University grew in relation to that society, UMSU's position in the University grew accordingly. By the 1960s, UMSU had begun to lobby for the creation of a students' union building and in 1970 UMSU's efforts came to fruition with the creation of the University Centre building on the Fort Garry Campus, with UMSU as a part owner.

In 1975, UMSU became one of the few students' organizations in North America to gain autonomy from the University Administration when it was incorporated by Provincial Statute. UMSU subsequently passed its own constitution and by-laws governing its operations. The 1970s and 1980s saw UMSU expand its on-campus services to students through the creation of several student-run businesses including a campus pub, print shop, restaurant and billiards hall. Unfortunately, by 1995, most of the UMSU businesses proved unprofitable and were closed down to or licensed to outside proprietors to prevent further losses.

However, though branching out into economic endeavors, UMSU remained committed to providing effective non-profit services to students such as operating a peer-advisor counseling service, a food bank for students, a radio station and a free on-campus art gallery. UMSU also puts on events such as Orientation, where new students are welcomed to campus, an annual Celebration week, where various speakers and events are offered to students free of charge, and assorted other activities that enrich student life at the University of Manitoba.

As UMSU is funded by mandatory student organization fees, upon paying their fees, students become full members of UMSU as well as paying contributors to the student council or their own faculty. The UMSU council, made up of elected representatives from each faculty, college and residence council, as well as the UMSU president and Vice-President, meets every two weeks during the school year (sporadically in the summer), to deal with major areas of concern within the Students' Union. Council also elects members to both standing and ad-hoc committees. Each sitting committee is then supposed to report to council once a month.

The UMSU Executive:

UMSU's day-to-day activities are run by five executive members. Each executive receives a salary, and though may take classes, considers his/her position to be the equivalent of a full time job. For the dates of this collection (1964-1995) the structure of the executive remained essentially the same.

The president is the elected leader of UMSU. Chief among the President's responsibilities is to represent students in all matters affecting their interests both on and off campus.

The Vice-President assists the President in the day-to-day activities of UMSU. The Vice-President serves as a liaison between students and administration in the event of academic or course difficulties. In addition to these responsibilities, the Vice-President also interacts with various student groups around campus and is the executive's representative on the University of Manitoba Senate.

The Director of Programming is appointed by council to coordinate all of UMSU's social events. These include concert series, films, political forums, lectures, socials, beer bashes, Orientation, Celebration and any other social event sponsored by UMSU. The Director of Programming is also responsible for allocating matching UMSU funds to councils or student group that mount their own social events.

The Director of Student Services was appointed by council to run many of the visible services offered by council. Book exchanges, off-campus typist listings, and telephone directories were the responsibilities of the director of student services. By 2002, the title of the position was changed to Director of Student Affairs.

The Director of Communications (DOC), also appointed, is essentially a public relations post. The DOC. ensures that the students know about all the decisions, programming, and services UMSU designs on their behalf. By 2002, the position's title had changed to Director of Public Relations.

Prior to1988, there was one more member of the executive, the Director of Administration (DOA). The DOA. was employed on a full time permanent basis, supervised all financial transactions, and provided a degree of continuity to an executive that faced yearly turnover. However, in 1988 the incumbent DOA. was terminated and the position ceased to exist. By 1995-1996, UMSU had recognized the need for a permanent administrator and created the position of Executive Director, who oversaw many of the same responsibilities of the former DOA.

University of Manitoba Medical Library

  • NJM HSL
  • Corporate body
  • 1889-

The Neil John MacLean Health Sciences Library, a state-of-the-art facility incorporating the resources of the previous Medical Library, the Neilson Dental Library, and the Health Sciences Centre Nursing Library, supports the teaching, research, and patient care requirements of the staff and students of the Faculties of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing (HSC program), and the schools of Dental Hygiene and Medical Rehabilitation.

University of Manitoba Married Students' Club

  • Corporate body

The Married Students' Club of the University of Manitoba was established as a forum for married students to meet and discuss common problems and to listen to speakers on subjects that interested them. They also planned social evenings on a monthly basis.

University of Manitoba Libraries

  • um_libraries
  • Corporate body
  • 1904-

The first library established at the University of Manitoba was in the Department of Science in 1904. In 1907, the University Council set aside a yearly sum for the purchase of books and bound journals and Mrs. W.H. Thompson was appointed first University Librarian. In 1935, a Carnegie Corporation grant allowed for the establishment of a junior library in the University administration building. However, the library collection still remained scattered among several buildings on both the Fort Garry and Broadway campuses. In 1953, to commemorate the University's 75th anniversary, construction began on a new central library eventually called the Elizabeth Dafoe Library in honour of Miss Dafoe's 23 years of service as Head Librarian. Additions were made to the Dafoe Library in 1960, 1963, and again in 1981 to accommodate the growing number of acquisitions and students.

Presently, in addition to the Elizabeth Dafoe Library, the University of Manitoba Libraries system includes the following units: Agriculture, Architecture and Fine Arts, Dental (Nielson), Education (D.S. Woods), Engineering (Donald W. Craik), Law (E.K. Williams), Management (Albert D. Cohen), Medical, Music (Ekhardt Gramatte), St. John's, St. Paul's and Science.

University of Manitoba Land Board

  • um_landboard
  • Corporate body
  • 1885-1933

The financial administration of the University of Manitoba was controlled by the Land Board. Created in 1885 as the Land Commission, it administered the selection, patenting, and sale of lands granted to the University by the provincial government. Land grants provided financial support to the University through leasing and interest without direct funding from the provincial government. These land grants provided for the eventual physical expansion of the University. The Land Committee was changed to the Land Board in 1900 and, in 1904, the University Council was granted full control over the Land Board. In 1906, responsibility for Land Board investments was awarded to the firm of Archibald, Machray and Sharpe. After 1917, the Board of Governors gave the University Secretary the right to transfer funds from the capital account to the general revenue account with signatures from the Chairman of the Board of Governors and from the Honorary Bursar.

John A. Machray, a senior partner in the investment firm Archibald, Machray and Sharpe, became Chairman of the Board of Governors in 1917, while maintaining his position as Honorary Bursar. In 1932, various sources within the government auditor's office became concerned that University endowments were being improperly managed. Machray had sole authority over all University investments for almost 30 years without comprehensive audits. The provincial auditor began an examination of Land Board accounts and realized discrepancies existed. Through financial mismanagement and poor investments, Archibald, Machray and Sharpe seriously diminished many endowments. Losses were deep. For example, the Rockefeller Fund for medical research was spent, the Isbister Trust Fund depleted, and St. John's College, one of the founding colleges, lost fifteen endowment funds. Total losses to the University exceeded $1,000,000 dollars.

Immediate consequences of the incident were tuition fee increases, wage cuts, and the establishment of the Royal Commission on the Impairment of the University of Manitoba Endowment Funds to examine the affair. The Commission found that the University Council's unprofessional operation and the lack of presidential authority were primary causes of the scandal. Also targeted was the lack of concern shown by the Provincial Auditor during the years of mismanagement. As a result, the University Council was dissolved into a Faculty-oriented Senate, and the new University President, Sydney Smith, was granted sweeping authority. The "Machray scandal" ended in 1936 with the Commission's report and the conviction of Machray, but the effects of the financial catastrophe continued to plague the University for decades.

University of Manitoba Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support

  • UM_Audio_Visual
  • Corporate body
  • 1966-

Originally known as the "Photography Unit," University of Manitoba Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support was solely responsible for photography and initially 60% of its workload was for the Faculty of Agriculture, including plant, animal, and soil science. Soon, the Photography Unit became responsible for shooting campus-wide events, including public relations, scientific research, and convocations. The Photography Unit was also responsible for a day-to-day workload that consisted of bookings, completing photography jobs, as well as processing the photographs in a darkroom.

The "Photography Unit" became known as "Photography and Graphics," then "Imaging Services," and later "Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support," which it is currently known as. The changes in the unit names reflects the advances in technology and the conversion to digital technology.

Originally, the Photography Unit reported to the head of the graphics department, and now photography has become an extended branch of the Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support unit. The work of the Photography Unit had been split up amongst four photographers-- Bob Talbot, Keo Nishizeki, Allan Patterson, and Wayne Foster. It soon became three as Wayne Foster left to shoot at the Bannatyne campus.

Bob Talbot was a photographer at the University of Manitoba from May 1972 to January 2011. Bob Talbot had initially taken the job as summer employment, but he soon moved from office clerk to apprentice photographer, junior photographer, and finally, senior photographer. Within the Photography Unit, Bob Talbot became the head, and reported to the Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support unit until his retirement in early 2011.

University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections

  • Corporate body
  • 1978-

Since its establishment in 1978, the Archives' mission has been to acquire, catalogue and preserve university records and special research collections which further the educational aims of the University of Manitoba, and to promote and provide wide access to them. The Archives' wide-ranging collection mandate includes the acquisition of the records of the University of Manitoba, Canadian Prairie Literary Manuscripts, the Archives of the Agricultural Experience and rare books in the areas of western Canadiana, early Arctic exploration, early Native language syllabics, spiritualism, church history and philosophy, and agriculture among others.

University of Manitoba

  • Corporate body
  • 1877-

The University of Manitoba is Western Canada’s first university, founded on February 28, 1877 just seven years after the province of Manitoba and only four years after the City of Winnipeg.

At the time, Manitoba was a small postage stamp province, Winnipeg was hardly more than a town and the University of Manitoba was a university in name only, created to confer degrees on students graduating from its three founding colleges – St. Boniface College, St. John’s College, and Manitoba College.

But from the beginning the University of Manitoba was pushing the boundaries of what a university should be. Alexander Kennedy Isbister, whose maternal grandmother was Cree, came to appreciate the power of education when he was earning his own degrees in Great Britain. When Isbister died in 1883 he left a legacy to the University of Manitoba: to provide scholarships and prizes based on merit to students who wished to attend the University of Manitoba. And it was Isbister’s wish that the awards be made to people regardless of sex, race, creed, language, or nationality. Even then, the University of Manitoba took the view that education should be accessible to all people. Jessie Holmes put the truth to that belief in 1886 becoming the university’s first female student and in 1889 its first female graduate.

Meanwhile, the family of colleges continued to grow, reflecting a diversity of skills, beliefs and locations throughout the province. In 1882 the Manitoba Medical College became a part of the University. It was followed by:

Methodist Church’s Wesley College in 1888
Manitoba College of Pharmacy in 1902
Manitoba Agriculture College in 1906
St. Paul’s College in 1931
Brandon College in 1938

St. Andrew’s College, established to train the ministry for the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church, became an affiliated College in 1981. The professional schools went on to become faculties within the university.

In 1967 United College, which had been formed by the merging of Wesley College and Manitoba College, became the University of Winnipeg, and Brandon College became Brandon University. St. John’s College, St. Paul’s College, and St. Andrew’s College maintain their affiliation with the university and are housed on the Fort Garry campus. Collège universitaire de St. Boniface retains its affiliated relationship with the University of Manitoba while operating independently on its own campus on Cathedral Ave. in St. Boniface.

The first faculty of the U of M, 1904. From left to right, Matthew Parker, Gordon Bell, A.H.R. Buller, Frank Allen, Swale Vincent, and R.R. Cochrance.

At the turn of the 20th century it was recognized that the University of Manitoba needed to be both a degree granting and teaching university and to do so it would need to have its own faculty members and facilities. To that end a science building was built on Broadway, where Memorial Park is now located, in 1901. In 1904 the university hired its first dedicated faculty, to teach in the newly created Faculty of Science. The new faculty members were supported by a gift from Lord Strathcona who, like Isbister, was willing to step forward and support something he believed in. Affectionately known as the university’s original six, the new science professors included A.H.R. Buller, botany and geology, Frank Allen, physics and mineralogy, M.A. Parker, chemistry, R. R. Cochrane, mathematics, Swale Vincent, physiology, and Gordon Bell, bacteriology. The new faculty members took their positions seriously, establishing public lectures to build links between the university and the community.

The university’s early history was alive with discussion about how teaching should be carried out in the province and how the workload should be divided between the university and its member colleges. But the trend was towards the university shouldering more of the teaching duties and the debate quickly turned to where a full university campus should be located.

An expanded location on Broadway and a site south of Assiniboine Park – now the home of the Canadian Mennonite University – were both held up as possible homes for a full grown University of Manitoba.

In the end, the Fort Garry site of the Manitoba Agricultural College was selected to house the university. Construction of the first buildings on the Fort Garry campus began in 1911 and the first buildings, Tache Hall, the Administration Building, and the Home Economics Building – now the Human Ecology Building – opened in 1912. The history of the Fort Garry campus is evident on the Administration Building which is adorned with the University of Manitoba’s name on its western side and the Manitoba Agricultural College’s name on the eastern side.

The transition to the Fort Garry campus and debate over where the University of Manitoba should be located would continue for some time and until 1950 the university was split with junior students studying at the Broadway campus and senior students studying in Fort Garry.

The University of Manitoba’s second home, the Bannatyne campus, houses the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and the Schools of Dental hygiene and Medical Rehabilitation. The Bannatyne campus is historic in its own right as the home of the Manitoba Medical College. In 2008, the Faculty of Pharmacy joined the Bannatyne campus.

While students had always been active in sports and social activities, the post First World War period also marked a boom in student organization with the creation in April 1919, of the University of Manitoba Student’s Union and in 1921 the creation of the University of Manitoba Alumni Association.

During the First and Second World Wars, the University of Manitoba served as a training ground for troops and watched some of its best and brightest to go off and fight for their country. A sacrifice that was recognized after the First World War with the planting of the Avenue of Elms stretching from the Administration Building to Pembina Highway along Chancellor Matheson Drive. Following the Second World War the university also played a critical role in helping troops complete their education and re-enter civilian life.

The change in university life was substantial, enrolment reached 6,488 in 1946-1947 and then soared in the post war boom with many families sending their children to university for the first time. The Fort Garry campus saw significant growth in the 1960s to meet the demands of the baby boom generation of students with the addition of University College, University Centre and new teaching facilities.

Of course the Fort Garry site has faced challenges over the years. During the 1950 flood the campus grounds were inundated with water, forcing university employees to paddle between buildings in an effort to ensure that library materials and research equipment was not damaged in the flood. The 1950 flood would leave its mark on the graduating class of 1950, which had to miss its convocation as members took up the fight against the rising waters. At its 25th class reunion that loss was rectified with a mock convocation and in 2000 then-Chancellor Arthur Mauro recognized the alumni as the ‘flood class.’

In 1999 the university launched Smartpark, a 100-acre research and technology park at the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry Campus. The park now hosts over 1,000 employees, many who are co-op students and graduates of the university. Smartpark serves as a bridge between basic research and industry, facilitating collaboration between the university and more than 30 research-oriented companies now residing in the park.

Building on Strengths: Campaign for the University of Manitoba, completed in 2004, raised $237 million to bolster student supports at the university and has had a tangible impact on the campus, helping create the Engineering and Information Technology Centre and supporting redevelopment of buildings across the campus.

In 2007 the university acquired the 120-acre Southwood Golf Course property directly adjacent to the Fort Garry Campus. The new land will provide the university with room to grow in the future and will help it create a true university community with increased housing for students and faculty.

In 2008 the university announced Project Domino, a $100 million project which will directly impact at least 13 faculties and departments at the university over the next five years. But the watch-word of Project Domino is conservation rather than construction. So, there will only be one new building constructed during the project – a new 350-bed residence on the south side of campus. The rest of Project Domino will focus on redeveloping old buildings for new tasks. The university’s historic Tache Hall, for example, will be redeveloped as a home for the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music and the School of Art. Once Music and Art move into Taché Hall their former buildings will be redeveloped to house the Faculty of Graduate Studies and International House … and so the dominos will continue to fall creating a revitalized campus.

University Faculty Women's Association

  • Corporate body

As early as 1913, when James A. MacLean became the first President of the University of Manitoba, wives of faculty and staff were meeting socially in each other's homes "to foster a spirit of friendship among the women connected with the university." During World War One, they formed themselves into a Red Cross unit. After the war, a more formal organization was established known variously as The Faculty Wives' Club or The Faculty Women's Club, which met monthly in the original Law Courts Building on Kennedy Street on the old Broadway campus in downtown Winnipeg. As the faculty grew in numbers and various colleges and faculties merged together to form the modern university, the club experienced corresponding change and growth resulting in the creation of the Faculty Women's Association in 1924. A formal constitution was not presented until 1942. A separate organization from the University Women's Club, the Faculty Women's Association sponsored various social, educational, and philanthropic activities and has, in more recent years, sponsored a wide variety of special interest groups for those women (and spouses) interested in gourmet cooking, travel, literature, or other activities. Presently, the entire membership meets together twice a year.

University Club of Winnipeg

  • Corporate body
  • 1913-1914

The University Club of Winnipeg was formed in 1913. Membership was open to male university graduates living in Winnipeg. The object of the club was to bring together the university men of the community. Each member was charged an initial fee of $50 and an additional $25 in annual dues. Judge Cameron was elected permanent Chairman in 1913. The club planned to purchase and renovate the Major Bell house at the corner of Carlton and York Streets. On December 18, 1914, W. Sanford Evans, President and Jasper Halpenny, M.D., Secretary, issued a notice stating that plans for the club and club quarters were on hold until the war ended. There is no evidence that the club was ever revived.

United Grain Growers Ltd.

  • ugg
  • Corporate body
  • 1917-2001

The precursor to the United Grain Growers was formed in 1901 in Indian Head, Saskatchewan, by a group of farmers who came together to discuss common problems related to grain farming. The "Grain Growers" concept spread quickly to Alberta and Manitoba and, in 1917, the movement amalgamated its commercial interests in the three Prairie Provinces to form United Grain Growers Ltd. The infrastructure of the company included grain elevators, terminals, and a farm supply network. U.G.G. bought or built an extensive series of country elevators across the west from 1912 to the 1960s. Grain terminal facilities were also constructed and included facilities at Thunder Bay, New Westminster, and Vancouver. Through their elevator system, the U.G.G. sold supplies such as coal, twine, chemicals, and fertilizer to their farm customers. The new millennium brough much consolidation for Canadian agribusiness and U.G.G. was part of this trend. On November 1, 2001, it merged with Agricore (formed by the consolidation of the Manitoba and Alberta Wheat Pools) to form a new company, Agricore United. In 2007, Agricore United merged with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to form Viterra. For a more detailed history and choronology of the company from beginnings to 1990, see the finding aid "The Archives of the United Grain Growers Limited", by Jeffery Long.

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