The re-election of Chancellor Secter took place earlier today at a meeting of the Committee of Election. This committee was established in The University of Manitoba Act for the sole purpose of electing a chancellor. Its membership consists of all members of the Board of Governors and of Senate, and is chaired by the Chair of the Board of Governors.

The Chancellor, as titular head of the University, confers all degrees and diplomas, and plays a leading role in advancing the University.

“The University of Manitoba is fortunate to have Harvey Secter re-elected as our Chancellor”, said Jan Lederman, Chair of the Board of Governors. “Chancellor Secter will continue to bring his wealth of wisdom and leadership experience to the role”.

Mr. Secter received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Manitoba in 1967. Following graduation, he directed the growth of Ricki’s Canada Limited, a family retail business, from a ten-store chain to a multi-divisional national operation of 150 stores.  He pursued his business career until 1988 when he returned to the University of Manitoba as a student.

Graduating from the Faculty of Law with the Gold Medal in Law in 1992, Mr. Secter went on to pursue a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School. He then became a visiting researcher and instructor at Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, where he assisted in teaching courses and workshops in negotiation and mediation. Mr. Secter also acted as an instructor at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law from 1995 to 1999.

In 1999, Mr. Secter was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba – just seven years after he graduated from that same faculty. He served in this position with distinction until 2008. Following his time as Dean, he was named Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Law.

Following his decade of service to the Faculty of Law, Mr. Secter retired in 2008. He continues his practice in mediation and arbitration. He serves on corporate boards as Director of FPCN General Partnership Inc., a Trustee of the FP Newspapers Income Fund and as a Director of James Richardson & Sons, Limited.

Mr. Secter is also an active community philanthropist and volunteer. He is Past President of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba and is a current member of the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council, the United Way Advisory Committee, and the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

“I am pleased that Mr. Secter has been re-elected as chancellor,” says Dr. David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. “His dedication to service to the community at large generally, and to the University specifically, serve as a wonderful example to our students.  I look forward to continuing to work with him in the years to come.”

Among Mr. Secter’s many honours, awards and appointments are an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg, the Sol Kanee Distinguished Community Service Award from the University of Manitoba, and, with his wife, Sandra, the Negev Award for Community Service.

For more information, contact John Danakas, director, marketing and communications office, at: 204-474-8551.

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Researchers at the University of Manitoba will receive new funding for grants and scholarships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) over the next five years.

The money will support research in a variety of areas, including magnetism at the nanoscale, learning and memory, and geothermal energy.

The awards total $9,500,100 and were included in a national announcement made in Ottawa today by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) and NSERC acting president Janet Walden.

“Discovery Grants is the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s flagship program and one of Canada’s largest sources of funding for basic research,” said Minister Goodyear.  “It provides researchers with the means and freedom to pursue their most promising ideas. Our government is proud to support 10,000 researchers who are creating the advances that will drive tomorrow’s innovations.”

A total of 95 professors will share $8,212,500 in funding from the NSERC Discovery Grants program in the categories of individual, group, subatomic physics, and research tools and instruments. Twenty-nine additional researchers at the graduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral level will receive a combined $1,287,600 in scholarships.

“This funding will fuel our scientific innovators in their quest for answers to the problems facing society today,” said Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor at the University of Manitoba. “I am proud of each of this year’s recipients and look forward to hearing about their discoveries as they unfold.”

“Today’s recipients are on their paths to successful careers in science and innovation,” said John (Jay) Doering, vice-provost (graduate education) dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba. “Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are the engines that drive the field of research.”

In total, more than 3,808 scientists, engineers and students at universities across the country will share upwards of $413 million in grants and scholarships over terms ranging from one to five years.

NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports almost 30,000 post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding approximately 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging over 2,400 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.

For the lists of recipients and descriptions of projects, see www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

For more information, please contact Janine Harasymchuk, marketing communications office, University of Manitoba, 204-474-7300.

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 The visual similarity between auks and Antarctic penguins can be seen in this photo. Auks, such as the thick-billed murre shown here, has the highest wing-loading of any bird and consequently flight costs are exceptionally high, explaining why Antarctic penguins have evolved flightlessness. Photo credit: Kyle Elliott

Recently, University of Manitoba biologists studying auks – a close relative of penguins except auks can fly– learned that these birds pay an extraordinarily high cost (almost Faustian, really) for their lifestyle.

In an upcoming edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, graduate student Kyle Elliott and his supervisor Gail Davoren, an associate professor of biological sciences, report on their work at Coats Island, Nunavut. They were studying auks alongside cormorants, a largish seabird. During the breeding season, auks and cormorants spend most of their day on land, but they must also dive to substantial depths and spend hours flying.

Most objects need to change their form in order to function efficiently in separate media.

In their paper “High flight costs, but low dive costs, in auks support the biomechanical hypothesis for flightlessness in penguins,” they describe how they measured oxygen consumed by auks and cormorants in the different activities in the wild.  They found that the flight costs were the highest sustained metabolic rates ever measured for any animal. Indeed, the costs were 33% higher than the biologists expected after doing biomechanical modeling of the bird.

Likewise, the auk’s swim costs were higher than penguins that specialize in swimming but – crucially – lower than those of foot-propelled cormorants.

Such high flight costs accompanied by progressive reductions in dive costs may have led aquatic birds to develop wing-propelled diving and finally flightlessness in response to foraging opportunities at increasing depths, Elliott and Davoren suggest. Loss of flight among seabirds such as penguins may thus have been due to the tradeoffs between maximizing wing function in water versus air. In short, good flippers don’t fly well.

“Clearly, form constrains function in wild animals and movement in one medium creates tradeoffs with movement in a second medium,” Elliott says. “It is unlikely that we will ever see a real Gadgetmobile”–referring to the cartoon vehicle of Inspector Gadget–“that functions smoothly in air, land and water.”

Robert E. Rickfels, a biologist from the University of Missouri, Scott A. Hatch, a biologist from the US Geological Survey, and Tony Gaston, a biologist at Environment Canada, were co-authors on the paper. Funding was provided by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Garfield-Weston Foundation.

For more information contact Sean Moore, Marketing Communications Office, University of Manitoba, 204-474-7963 (sean_moore@umanitoba.ca).

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The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the dental profession, the dental community, and to the oral health of Canadians. Dawes was presented with the award at the CDA Annual General Meeting in Ottawa in April.

“It’s extremely rare that this type of award is given for research,” said Dawes, who has spent almost his entire career at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Dentistry. “So this is quite an honour, indeed.”

For nearly 50 years, Dawes has been a leading research scientist within the Department of Oral Biology. He has conducted much-heralded research that has earned the attention and admiration of the profession throughout the world, and he has given invited lectures in 27 different countries. In particular, his work in the realm of salivary research has brought the University of Manitoba international renown and earned him several awards.

“Dr. Dawes is a shining example of consistent excellence at the Faculty, a role model for all students, scientists and academics to follow,” said Anthony Iacopino, Dean of Dentistry.

In addition to authoring over 220 research publications, Dawes is also an editor of and contributor to Saliva and Oral Health, a text book that is now into its fourth edition.

His influential body of work culminated in 2005 when the Salivary Research Group of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) presented Dawes with the Salivary Researcher of the Year Award.  That same year he was named Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba.

Dawes earned degrees in physiology and dentistry from Manchester University before earning his PhD at the University of Durham. He joined the U of M Faculty in 1964 following a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

For more information please contact Grant Warren at 204-789-3267 (gwarren@ad.umanitoba.ca).

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“On behalf of the entire University of Manitoba community, I express deep sadness at the passing of a great leader and Indigenous activist,” said David Barnard, University of Manitoba president and vice-chancellor. “He was one of our most honoured and respected former students, a great Canadian leader who used his remarkable gifts and talents to give back to his Nation.”

Deborah Young, executive lead, Indigenous Achievement at the University of Manitoba, said: “I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Harper on numerous occasions and I was always struck by his humility, integrity and honesty. He was a tremendous First Nation leader and role model for everyone. His sudden passing is loss not only for Indigenous communities but for Canada.”

Harper was born on March 3, 1949 at Red Sucker Lake First Nation in northeastern Manitoba. As a child, he was one of many taken to a residential school, and shared his painful memories of his childhood later in life. Harper was elected Chief of Red Sucker Lake Band (now Red Sucker Lake First Nation) when he was only 29, years old, a sign of his vision and leadership.

In 1981, Harper was elected Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Rupertsland, the first First Nations MLA ever elected. In 1996, he became Minister without portfolio for Native Affairs and Minister of Northern Affairs in 1997. In 1993, Harper was elected as Member of Parliament for Churchill and in January 1998 served on the Indian Claims Commission.

Harper is best known for his courageous blocking of the Meech Lake Accord in the Manitoba Legislature in 1990, raising an eagle feather to indicate his position of disagreement. This action blocked the constitutional amendment package negotiated by the Canadian government to gain Quebec’s acceptance of the Constitution Act of 1982, on the grounds that the accord was negotiated without the consent of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples.

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Degrees will be conferred on 105 medical school graduates: 56 females and 49 males, including four Aboriginal students and 26 with rural attributes which include rural roots; rural work experience or rural volunteer experience.

The Class of 2013 is an exceptional group. Graduates include: the Faculty’s first hearing-impaired student. The medical faculty worked closely with Megan Jack and adopted a new way of teaching. The Faculty’s very own sleuth, Brett Houston, helped solve a blood mystery that had researchers and members of a Manitoba family completely baffled for decades. Donna Neufeld, an inner-city wife, and mom of four, returned to academia after 22 years. She has shown everyone around her what it means to persevere.

“When I look at the 105 MDs graduating today, I see a diverse group of individuals that have overcome many different challenges; whether it’s dealing with specific learning needs or balancing academic and family life,” said Brian Postl [MD/76], Dean, Faculty of Medicine. “These students represent and identify with the individuals they will go on to serve as physicians.”

This year, more than 70 per cent of the graduates are staying at the University of Manitoba to complete their residencies. “As a medical school we are dedicated to educating and training our graduates who will serve communities across the province and meet the health care needs of all Manitobans,” Postl said.
The Convocation also includes the presentation of an Honorary Doctorate degree to University of Manitoba alumnus Harry Bone.

Elder Harry Bone, BA (Brandon)

Elder Harry Bone has worked tirelessly and quietly throughout his life to bolster Indigenous rights. He serves as a source of inspiration to the Faculty of Medicine, which shares his goal of improving the lives of Indigenous peoples by respecting their individual and collective rights. He is awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Manitoba for working with respect and humility toward this honourable end. As a member of the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway Nation he served as a Chief and Director of Education, and has worked as a CEO at the West Region Tribal Council and as a Director of the Manitoba Indian Education Authority. While a graduate student in political studies at the University of Manitoba he was a Student Advisor and Lecturer. Elder Bone was also a Director of Native Programs for the Federal Government and he served as a Vice-President of Aboriginal Cultural Centres of Canada. His distinguished achievements in leadership, scholarship and public service have been widely recognized by the many individuals and communities who have been touched by his work. The University of Manitoba honours Elder Bone for his tireless and trendsetting work that continues to advance Aboriginal education in Canada.

Media are invited to obtain photos of the Class of 2013 during their procession at 10:25 a.m. or during the Hippocratic Oath near the end of the convocation.

Graduating students will be available for interviews prior to start of convocation at approximately 10:00 a.m. Please advise of your interest in conducting interviews with graduates in advance.

For more information, or requests for an interview, contact Ilana Simon, Director of Communications & Marketing, Faculty of Medicine, at: 204-789-3427 or 204-295-6777 (ilana.simon@med.umanitoba.ca).

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This year, for the first time, an Indigenous-focused Mini U Camp will be offered at no cost to children and youth, engaging them in leadership opportunities and Indigenous games in an environment that shares Indigenous traditions, cultures and knowledge. The University of Manitoba is committed to the success of Canada’s First Nations, Metis and Inuit populations. The university’s Pathways to Indigenous Achievement strategic plan commits to supporting students, building partnerships and supporting communities, sharing Indigenous knowledge and research and celebrating First Nations, Metis and Inuit successes.

Camp scholarships are also made available through funding from Mini U Programs, Winnipeg School Division (WSD) and through a donation from Robert Alan Kennedy [BSc (EE)/62]. Youth from elementary and middle schools within WSD, have the opportunity to select from an array of Mini U Programs and attend camp for two weeks during the summer. Programs focus on leadership development, special interests, sports and recreation. Participants receive transportation, lunches, and a tee shirt.

These programs build upon the year round community engagement activities with youth, which include the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management’s “Rec and Read” Mentorship programs-a culturally based afterschool physical activity program for young people living in diverse communities. Rec and Read nurtures the leadership skills and educational success of youth and develops culturally responsive recreation leaders that can plan and facilitate relevant and meaningful programs.

Programs like these have led to fantastic relationships with individuals from the inner Winnipeg community and the University of Manitoba. Supporters from our community have made these opportunities available.

For information about Mini U Programs, go to: www.miniu.ca

For more information, please contact Jay Gamey, director, Mini U Programs, at: 204-474-6584 or email: jay.gamey@umanitoba.ca

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At the University of Manitoba, from the enlightening to the fun and quirky, Science Rendezvous will engage adults, families and children alike in a day of free fun and discovery.

Everyone is invited to come explore the dozens of interactive displays, hands-on activities for kids, a chemistry magic show and a physics circus, and learn about cutting-edge research conducted at the University of Manitoba.

Displays and activities include:

• All-electric ATV and Motorcycle
• Alternative Village Tour
• Angry Birds
• Build your Own Kaleidoscope
• Chemistry Magic Show
• Foods for Health
• Physics Circus Show
• Plinko
• Simulation SAE Formula race-car
• Slimey Surprise
• Solar Observatory
• Spaghetti Bridge Building and Testing
• Statapult
• Strawberry DNA Extraction

There will be free prizes, helium balloons and… slime!

So come join us in the Engineering and Information Technology Complex
(EITC) at the University of Manitoba for a day you will never forget!

Date: Saturday, May 11, 2013
Time: 11:00am until 3:00pm
Location: EITC, 75 Chancellors Circle University of Manitoba

Get more details at: http://www.sciencerendezvous.ca/

For more information, contact: James Xidos, chemistry, at: 204-474-6078 or email: xidos@cc.umanitoba.ca

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“Enthusiasm for the Festival continues to grow,” says Jessica Senehi, festival director and associate director of the Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice. “This year, our French Program includes 3,750 seats for French-language students in addition to public events.”

At the Festival this year, the Dr. Philip Weiss Award for Storytelling for Peace and Human Rights will be given to Holocaust survivor Dr. Sidney Finkel, who tells the story of his childhood vividly and honestly. History, courage, luck and foolhardiness took Finkel on a journey from Poland in 1939 at the age of seven to Buchenwald, Germany; Thereseinstadt, Czechoslovakia; and finally, as a teenager, to Windmere, England, in 1945. The author of Sevek and the Holocaust: The Boy Who Refused to Die, Finkel did not speak about his experiences until 1993 when he visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial in Washington, DC. Since beginning that journey, he has spoken in hundreds of schools in the United States.

The 2013 Festival also includes a special focus on puppets, featuring amazing puppet artists Doug Berky and Hobey Ford. The public program on Saturday has expanded to include more tellers and presentations, including a Theatre for Living workshop that will show theatre approaches as tools for problem-solving and peacemaking.

Featured tellers this year include:

• Roberta Kennedy, a traditional Haida storyteller, drummer and Dene teacher of the Dogrib language to primary school students. She tells stories for children and adults at festivals, schools, universities, conferences, workshops and on TV and radio.

• Christine Spink-Mitchell, who uses her love of her language, American Sign Language, to take us by the hand and sit with us down in her world. Teachers, parents, interpreters, and both Deaf and hearing children and adults will be drawn by her stories and her experience;

• Paul Taylor, a troubador with a didjeridoo who seeks to build bridges of cultural understanding. He is mentored by Yidumduma Bill Harney, custodian of the Wardaman culture in Australia’s Northern Territory, and is honored with the Wardaman name “Jalala.”

The Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice is based in St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba. It offers the only PhD program in Peace and Justice in Canada, attracting students from around the world.

For more information, including a detailed festival program, please see http://umanitoba.ca/storytelling

Or contact Jessica Senehi at: 204-474-7978 or email: Jessica_Senehi@umanitoba.ca

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The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg presents the awards every year to bolster awareness of the outstanding contributions certain local women make to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and the world. Eighty-six women were nominated in twelve categories including culture, leadership and voluntarism.

The six University of Manitoba recipients were Dr. Judith Bartlett, Dr. Juliette “Archie” Cooper, alumna Lisa Meeches, Melanie Verhaeghe and Diane Gray, and student Emily Richard.

Judith Bartlett (MD/1987, MSc/2004) is an associate professor in community health sciences in the Faculty of Medicine. Until 2012, she was the founding director of the Health & Wellness Department at the Manitoba Metis Federation where she co-led a province-wide comprehensive Metis health report and led the research on cancer and diabetes in the Metis population. She was also a co-founder of the Aboriginal Heath & Wellness Centre of Winnipeg.

Juliette “Archie” Cooper (BOT/1979, MSc/1982, PhD/1987) has been an occupational therapist for 50 years and was the first occupational therapist in Manitoba to attain a PhD. She has been an educator at the University of Manitoba for 40 years, and is now Professor Emeritus of the School of Medical Rehabilitation. For her many contributions to the U of M, she was recognized in 2012 with the Peter D. Curry Chancellor’s Award and the School of Medical Rehabilitation has established the Juliette Cooper Lectureship in Rehabilitation.

Lisa Meeches received an award as part of NSI New Voices, a 14-week, full-time training program for young Aboriginal adults, aged 18 to 35, interested in a career in film, television and digital media. She and her co-winners spent four years interviewing residential school survivors across Canada, a life-changing experience that provided the inspiration for the NSI New Voices program. NSI New Voices is a one-of-a-kind program that integrates education with traditional teachings and bridges the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal content creators. She was a member of the U of M Board of Governors from 2002-2005.

Melanie Verhaeghe (BA/1988) is senior producer of newsgathering for CBC Manitoba. She started out as a newspaper reporter and then entered the broadcast industry, landing at CBC. As a reporter, investigative reporter and producer, Melanie has been involved in award-winning stories that raised awareness and led to change. Her stories have taken her all over the world, including to Uganda to follow up on the lives of child soldiers in a civil war lasting more than 20 years and to Honduras to expose a Canadian company involved in sweatshop labour.

Diane Gray (BA/1993, MPA/1996) has had success as a civil servant, business leader and active community volunteer. In 2003 she became the youngest Deputy Minister ever appointed and the first woman to serve as Deputy Minister in the traditionally male-dominated portfolios of Federal-Provincial and International Relations, Trade and Finance. While still in government, she was tasked with developing the guidelines for what has become CentrePort Canada, an initiative that had been discussed for more than 15 years, but under Diane’s leadership, came to fruition in months.

Emily Richard is an elite rhythmic gymnast and social work student who had a maximum 4.5 GPA in every one of her 2011-12 courses. She competed nationally and internationally for several years and paid that knowledge forward by becoming the youngest head coach and board member with Rhythmic Gymnastics Manitoba and is head rhythmic gymnastics instructor at the U of M’s Bison summer camps. Emily’s dedication to young girls led her to travel to Kenya last year, where she co-founded The Wasichana Fund Inc., which supplies sanitary napkins to impoverished schoolgirls and offers female-only health-education classes.

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