University of Winnipeg Report to the Community 2012

Message from Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President & Vice-Chancellor

Lloyd Axworthy and UWinnipeg StudentsCreating a Healthy Campus and Community

When the doors of our new Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex at 599 Portage Avenue opened in September, it was one of the most significant moments our campus and the surrounding West End community has seen in the past decade. More than 2,000 students, faculty, staff, and visitors now stream in and out of the state-of- the­art complex daily, studying and researching the most challenging issues we face: climate change, isotope production and cancer tests, and pollutants in our air and lakes. We are nurturing a new generation of capable and creative leaders.

In the past several years we have been responsible for $150 million in new investment in facilities in our downtown and West End neighbourhoods. In January we opened the newly renovated AnX — a hub and meeting place with downtown’s largest bookstore, Garbonzo’s pizza pub, and a Starbucks coffee shop. The city’s new Rapid Transit terminal at the AnX adds to our accessibility and commitment to active transportation, as does our new UWSA Bike Lab on campus which is open to both students and the community.

We are poised to go further. This month we are breaking ground to construct the most important recreational facility ever built for Winnipeg’s inner city community. The new multi-purpose Field House, Health and Wellness Complex is going to add academic opportunities on campus, offer more choices for UWinnipeg students and athletes, and create a safe place for neighbourhood children to play. Next month we are also launching a full-fledged Faculty of Kinesiology, dedicated to health and wellness research and programming.

In the past several months we also went through a Strategic Review process and invited our students, staff, faculty — and just as importantly — our surrounding community to tell us what kind of university they want us to be moving forward. We received more than 80 thoughtful submissions, including from many community organizations, such as Spence Neighbourhood Association, Klinic Community Health Centre, Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, West Central Women’s Resource Centre, and John M. King School. These diverse voices and ideas allow us to remain connected and relevant in creating a campus that is inclusive and diverse. We thank you, our government partners, and individual and corporate donors for your input and continued support.