>U of M holds its 12th annual general meeting

2005-06 was a ‘fabulous year,’ U of M admin agrees

TESSA VANDERHART STAFF

The university celebrated the achievements — and presented its audited financial statements — of the 2005-06 year at its 12th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held Sept. 19.

Amid administrative reports and a Basic Medical Sciences lecture hall full of suits, one message was repeated: “2005-06 was a fabulous year,” according to university president Emöke Szathmáry and the university administration.

The meeting was streamed live on the university’s website, though “I suspect that as interesting as most of us in the room find it, there aren’t that many others watching,” said Board of Governors chair Terry Sargeant.

The AGM coincides with one of the Board of Governors’ seven annual meetings. Board members in attendance at the AGM included eleven appointees of the provincial government, three representatives each elected by the university senate and alumni, and three UMSU appointees.

The board is the administrative governing body of the university, and has a number of powers outlined in the University of Manitoba Act, including the power to “generally promote and carry on the work of a university in all its branches,” including: jurisdiction over the use of the words “university” and “varsity”; hire and determine the remuneration of university administrators; and, through its finance committee, assess the financial well-being of the university.

The AGM serves as a check on the board, in addition to the university's academic governing body, the senate.

The Board of Governors is also responsible for approving the university’s budget every spring, and its audited statements every fall at the Annual General Meeting. At the university’s AGM, like any corporation, the past year’s audited budget is officially presented to the members of the university — in this case the president and vice-presidents, and administrative and academic directors, including deans, college provosts, and associate vice-presidents — and to the provincial government.

Minister of advanced education Diane McGifford, in attendance to get the province’s official copy of the 2005-06 Annual Report, noted the provincial government’s appreciation for the U of M. “How could we live without you?” she asked.

Criticisms of the university in the provincial legislature are met with McGifford’s reminder, she said, that two U of M alumni won Rhodes Scholarships last year.

Vice-president (research) Joanne Keselman discussed the university’s “key role in building the province’s future,” adding that “research . . . underpins all of our programs.” She said that $94 million was spent on research last year, of which 47.5 per cent was in the faculty of medicine.

Vice-president (administration) Debbie McCallum noted that the university focused $129.5 million on infrastructure improvements in 2005-06, spending $2.2 million on “asbestos abatement.”

The AGM is not legally required, as the U of M does not fall under the Corporations Act, but the open meeting is an extension of the university’s required presentation of audited statements to the provincial government — and, said Szathmáry, of the university’s commitment to “a focus on accountability . . . a more sober focus.”

In the open session of the Board of Governors meeting held after the AGM, the possibility that the university could be required make financial reports to the province four times annually was also discussed, and McCallum noted that if this became law the province would provide the university with additional funding to do this.