The following message is being sent on behalf of Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and Naomi Andrew, Vice-President (Administration).

Message from

Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Provost and Vice-President (Academic) and

Naomi Andrew, Vice-President (Administration)

New Task Force will update UM’s Mental Health and Well-being Strategy

Dear students,

The University of Manitoba is committed to providing a caring, supportive, responsive and safe environment for all members of our campus community. To advance this commitment, we will develop a new institutional mental health and well-being strategy.

A Task Force on Mental Health and Well-being has been formed, led by co-chairs Tracey Peter, Vice-Provost (Academic Affairs), Laurie Schnarr, Vice-Provost (Students), and René Ouellette, Associate Vice-President (Human Resources). The task force will investigate the current mental health supports available across each of our campuses, consider promising practices, review data collected from recent surveys and engage in consultations with our campus community to ultimately formulate recommendations for consideration.

The task force intends to hold its first meeting in April, and in the coming months will announce the formation of several working groups. Please watch for future communications regarding opportunities to serve on a working group and also how to contribute through the consultation process.

The task force aims to present initial findings in the fall of this year, and a final report and recommendations by Summer 2025. You can find the Terms of Reference for the Mental Health and Well-being Task Force and its membership on the Wellness and Mental Health webpage.

Our recently launched strategic plan, MomentUM: Leading the Change Together, identifies well-being as a core value and emphasizes the importance of safety, respect and social connection as essential to mental health and well-being for the UM community and its individual members.

There are many resources in place to support the mental health and wellness of our students, staff and faculty members. We encourage you to visit our Wellness and Mental Health webpage to take advantage of the resources currently available. We recognize, however, that there is still more work to be done to build on UM’s previous mental health strategy, and create a robust and comprehensive strategy that reflects present-day opportunities and challenges.

Thank you to those who are already engaged in this important work, and to everyone in our community who contributes to a campus environment of care, mutual respect and inclusivity.

Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Provost and Vice-President (Academic)

Naomi Andrew, Vice-President (Administration)