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About The University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba is a coeducational, nondenominational, government-supported institution. It is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.
The University of Manitoba was established in 1877 to confer degrees on students graduating from its three founding colleges: St. Boniface College, St. John's College, and Manitoba College. It was the first university to be established in western Canada.
In 1900 the Manitoba legislature amended the University of Manitoba Act so that it could begin teaching in its own right. In 1904 a building in downtown Winnipeg became the first teaching facility with a staff of six professors, all of whom were scientists. The U of M moved to its present permanent location in Fort Garry following the transfer of the Manitoba Agricultural College to the university.
In its early years the University of Manitoba expanded through the addition of colleges to its corporate and associative body. In 1882 the Manitoba Medical College, originally founded by physicians and surgeons in the province, became a part of the university. Other affiliations followed: the Methodist church's Wesley College joined in 1888; the Manitoba College of Pharmacy in 1902; the Manitoba Agricultural College in 1906; St. Paul's College in 1931; and Brandon College in 1938. St. Andrew's College, initially an associated college in 1964, became an affiliated college in 1981. The Canadian Mennonite Bible College, the Prairie Theatre Exchange and the William and Catherine Booth College have been designated by the university as approved teaching centres.
In 1967 two of the colleges of the University of Manitoba were given university status by the provincial government. United College, which was formed by the merging of Wesley College and Manitoba College, became the University of Winnipeg, and Brandon College became Brandon University.
St. Boniface College and St. John's College, two of the original founding colleges, are still part of the University of Manitoba. St. Boniface College, a Roman Catholic institution which traces its beginnings to 1818 and the earliest days of the Red River settlement, is the university's only French-speaking college. Now called Collège Universitaire de Saint-Boniface, it is located in St. Boniface and its language of instruction is French. St. John's College, which dates to 1820, is situated on the Fort Garry campus and is committed to fostering a sense of community and belonging among its faculty, students and staff. All students from first year to graduate study, are provided with a learning environment that includes small classes and study groups as well as opportunities for participation on student councils and other extracurricular activities. The college offers students a special focus in first-year teaching with its "opportunity and reserved registration courses," its Canadian studies program, and its Faculty of Theology.
St. Paul's College was founded in 1926 by the Archdiocese of Winnipeg and became part of the University of Manitoba in 1931. In 1933 the Jesuit order assumed responsibility for the college and organized the college's academic program in accordance with its internationally recognized educational principles. The college accepted an invitation from the university to move to the Fort Garry Campus and its present building was completed in 1958. Since 1970 and the signing of the Colleges-University Agreement, the programs of St. Paul's have become more intertwined with those of the university, but the emphasis on effective teaching and learning within the context of a community inspired by Catholicism is still in effect.
St. Andrew's College was established in 1946 by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada and moved to the Fort Garry Campus in 1964. It offers programs in Ukrainian Canadian heritage studies and, in addition, prepares candidates for the ordained ministry and lay leadership in the Ukrainian Orthodox church and other Orthodox churches.
Thirty-five of the many buildings on the Fort Garry campus of the University of Manitoba are directly used for teaching. Four of these are the homes of colleges: St. John's, St. Paul's, St. Andrew's, and University College. The remaining buildings contain special laboratories, administrative and service offices, recreation facilities, residences, or belong to research agencies.
The second location, called the Bannatyne Campus, comprises a complex of nine buildings west of the Health Sciences Centre between McDermot Avenue and Bannatyne Avenue in central Winnipeg. The Brodie Centre, which houses a major library and a wide range of student services, is the focal point of this complex. The Faculty of Dentistry, the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Medical Rehabilitation, and the School of Dental Hygiene are the major health science units located on this campus.
