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Winnipeg Free Press
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
University of Winnipeg employee calls for investigation into leadership under whistleblower law
A University of Winnipeg employee has filed a whistleblower report that calls for a probe into overall operations at the post-secondary institution amid mounting concerns about its leadership. The Free Press obtained a six-page submission to the Manitoba ombudsman about the publicly funded institution under president Todd Mondor. It echoes concerns on campus about employee turnover, transparency about recent cost-cutting measures and new rules that censor protests and other activities at U of W. The complaint was filed late last month. The ombudsman is assessing whether it requires further investigation. 'It might be unusual to have a whistleblower complaint, but that may be more reflective of the person who filed it rather than the culture at the U of W,' Mondor told the Free Press Monday in a rare interview. SUPPLIED Manitoba's whistleblower protection legislation facilitates the disclosure and investigation of significant and serious wrongdoing within public bodies. It was created to protect employees who have evidence of unethical or illegal activities. U of W's president defended his track record over the last three years — his five-year term began in April 2022 — at the helm of the school, saying he's tried to be as transparent and collaborative as possible. Mondor said that ethos is why he has organized seven town halls during his tenure and made it well known the university is projecting a significant deficit for 2025-2026. Senior administration has primarily attributed the financial crunch to an unfair provincial funding formula and a drop in first-year international student enrolment. Mondor said the number of new international students this year dropped by 10 per cent compared to 2023-2024. Manitoba's Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act Provincial legislation was first introduced in 2007 to protect bureaucrats and employees at other public institutions from retaliation if they step forward with information about serious wrongdoing inside the public service. Employees must submit a form that identifies the type of alleged wrongdoing, a description of it and the names of those responsible. Following an initial assessment, the ombudsman can decline or launch an investigation, facilitate a resolution or refer a case to an institution's Public Interest Disclosure Act designated officer or the auditor general. While he said that percentage is expected to triple next year, he did not have a rough estimate of how much U of W expects to be in the red in a year's time. Public meeting minutes show he has told senate the shortfall could be between $4 million and $18 million. The administration has announced numerous reductions to find cost savings. Since the fall, they have included a hiring freeze, reduced discretionary spending and cancelling both an English-language program and the 2025 women's soccer season. The university has not revealed how much each measure has saved, but it did not end the recent fiscal year with a deficit. The whistleblower is calling for an investigation into spending on external consultants and management positions. U of W recently contracted Higher Education Strategy Associates, a Toronto-based consulting firm, to study Manitoba's funding model for post-secondary education, conduct a campus space audit and develop its new strategic plan. Mondor's administration has also hired Show and Tell Agency, a marketing firm headquartered in the Exchange District, to create a brand strategy. 'A university that is financially challenged should be very careful about which consultants it hires for anything — for strategic plans and, certainly, for branding exercises,' said Peter Miller, president of the faculty association, echoing the whistleblower's concerns about frivolous spending. Miller said morale among his members is low and budget pressures are only one contributing factor. There has been a 'fundamental shift' in how his employer of nearly a decade operates, said the associate professor and chair of the classics department. 'Faculty are being consulted less and are playing a less-central role in the governance of the institution,' he said. One example is the administration updating a policy on accessing buildings and posting it online without consulting academics who are contractually entitled to have input on changes to their workplace, Miller noted. The changes require outdoor event organizers to obtain explicit pre-approval from the administration and ban visitors outside regular school hours 'unless authorized by security.' The updated policy explicitly prohibits camping on university grounds. Those updates, as well as the drafting of an entirely new convocation policy that polices attire and activities, appear to respond to a recent wave of pro-Palestinian protests at universities in Winnipeg and across the country. 'I understand it's tough to be an administrator. I wouldn't want to do it, but I think they really need to consider what kind of university culture they want to manifest and to nurture.'–Kelly Gorkoff, associate professor and chair of the UofW criminal justice department Protesters set up encampments both at the U of W and University of Manitoba, Mondor's previous employer, last spring. A medical school valedictorian at the U of M made headlines after he urged fellow graduates to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Kelly Gorkoff, a researcher who has worked at U of W for 18 years, said a lot of her colleagues are concerned about the state of transparency and 'the direction of the university.' 'I understand it's tough to be an administrator. I wouldn't want to do it, but I think they really need to consider what kind of university culture they want to manifest and to nurture. Universities have always been places of freedom of thinking, freedom of debate,' said the associate professor and chair of the criminal justice department. Gorkoff said there is a disconnect between U of W leadership's concerns about the suppression of academic freedom south of the border and its actions. As far as Miller is concerned, convocation is an extension of what happens in the classroom, so it should be a place for debate, discussion and dissent. He called it striking that U of W administration has written a graduation policy that would bar an attendee from holding up a sign that says 'land back' or wearing a keffiyeh, a black-and-white headdress that is a symbol of the Palestinian liberation movement. Asked about community concerns related to policy-making, Mondor said the university is formalizing existing practices and takes faculty input into consideration. While indicating he is not leading the convocation policy process, the president said, 'We don't want to suppress anyone's individual right to do whatever the heck they want.' 'That's why it's not live,' he said, adding the draft may not be approved and not go into effect, after all. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Mondor was asked for but did not provide the total cost of recent external contracts. He did, however, defend them as one-off expenses that drew on administrative budgets. U of W originally planned a public budget town hall this month. The university now plans to table its fiscal blueprint in early June. The Manitoba government did not directly respond to a question about whether it was aware of a whistleblower report involving the school. 'The ombudsman is the appropriate channel to deal with and investigate these matters,' a spokesperson for the department of advanced education said in a statement. The ombudsman's office indicated it cannot discuss specific inquiries or disclosures as they are treated confidentially. The time it takes to assess disclosures and conduct investigations varies based on available information and the volume of inquiries, said Amie Lesyk, communications officer for the ombudsman. Jill Perron has been Manitoba's ombudsman since 2019. Lesyk said the ombudsman receives an average of 25 whistleblower disclosures under Manitoba's Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act annually. A report on 2023-2024 activity shows 23 disclosures of wrongdoing were submitted; 16 of them, two of which were acted on, were closed. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
14-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
U of W employee calls for investigation into university's leadership under whistleblower legislation
A University of Winnipeg employee has filed a whistleblower report that calls for a probe into overall operations at the post-secondary institution amid mounting concerns about its leadership. The Free Press obtained a six-page submission to the Manitoba ombudsman about the publicly funded institution under president Todd Mondor. It echoes concerns on campus about employee turnover, transparency about recent cost-cutting measures and new rules that censor protests and other activities at U of W. The complaint was filed late last month. The ombudsman is assessing whether it requires further investigation. 'It might be unusual to have a whistleblower complaint, but that may be more reflective of the person who filed it rather than the culture at the U of W,' Mondor told the Free Press Monday in a rare interview. Manitoba's whistleblower protection legislation facilitates the disclosure and investigation of significant and serious wrongdoing within public bodies. It was created to protect employees who have evidence of unethical or illegal activities. U of W's president defended his track record over the last three years — his five-year term began in April 2022 — at the helm of the school, saying he's tried to be as transparent and collaborative as possible. Mondor said that ethos is why he has organized seven town halls during his tenure and made it well known the university is projecting a significant deficit for 2025-2026. Senior administration has primarily attributed the financial crunch to an unfair provincial funding formula and a drop in first-year international student enrolment. Mondor said the number of new international students this year dropped by 10 per cent compared to 2023-2024. While he said that percentage is expected to triple next year, he did not have a rough estimate of how much U of W expects to be in the red in a year's time. Public meeting minutes show he has told senate the shortfall could be between $4 million and $18 million. The administration has announced numerous reductions to find cost savings. Since the fall, they have included a hiring freeze, reduced discretionary spending and cancelling both an English-language program and the 2025 women's soccer season. The university has not revealed how much each measure has saved, but it did not end the recent fiscal year with a deficit. The whistleblower is calling for an investigation into spending on external consultants and management positions. U of W recently contracted Higher Education Strategy Associates, a Toronto-based consulting firm, to study Manitoba's funding model for post-secondary education, conduct a campus space audit and develop its new strategic plan. Mondor's administration has also hired Show and Tell Agency, a marketing firm headquartered in the Exchange District, to create a brand strategy. 'A university that is financially challenged should be very careful about which consultants it hires for anything — for strategic plans and, certainly, for branding exercises,' said Peter Miller, president of the faculty association, echoing the whistleblower's concerns about frivolous spending. Miller said morale among his members is low and budget pressures are only one contributing factor. There has been a 'fundamental shift' in how his employer of nearly a decade operates, said the associate professor and chair of the classics department. 'Faculty are being consulted less and are playing a less-central role in the governance of the institution,' he said. One example is the administration updating a policy on accessing buildings and posting it online without consulting academics who are contractually entitled to have input on changes to their workplace, Miller noted. The changes require outdoor event organizers to obtain explicit pre-approval from the administration and ban visitors outside regular school hours 'unless authorized by security.' The updated policy explicitly prohibits camping on university grounds. Those updates, as well as the drafting of an entirely new convocation policy that polices attire and activities, appear to respond to a recent wave of pro-Palestinian protests at universities in Winnipeg and across the country. Protesters set up encampments both at the U of W and University of Manitoba, Mondor's previous employer, last spring. A medical school valedictorian at the U of M made headlines after he urged fellow graduates to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Kelly Gorkoff, a researcher who has worked at U of W for 18 years, said a lot of her colleagues are concerned about the state of transparency and 'the direction of the university.' 'I understand it's tough to be an administrator. I wouldn't want to do it, but I think they really need to consider what kind of university culture they want to manifest and to nurture. Universities have always been places of freedom of thinking, freedom of debate,' said the associate professor and chair of the criminal justice department. Gorkoff said there is a disconnect between U of W leadership's concerns about the suppression of academic freedom south of the border and its actions. As far as Miller is concerned, convocation is an extension of what happens in the classroom, so it should be a place for debate, discussion and dissent. He called it striking that U of W administration has written a graduation policy that would bar an attendee from holding up a sign that says 'land back' or wearing a keffiyeh, a black-and-white headdress that is a symbol of the Palestinian liberation movement. Asked about community concerns related to policy-making, Mondor said the university is formalizing existing practices and takes faculty input into consideration. While indicating he is not leading the convocation policy process, the president said, 'We don't want to suppress anyone's individual right to do whatever the heck they want.' 'That's why it's not live,' he said, adding the draft may not be approved and not go into effect, after all. Mondor was asked for but did not provide the total cost of recent external contracts. He did, however, defend them as one-off expenses that drew on administrative budgets. U of W originally planned a public budget town hall this month. The university now plans to table its fiscal blueprint in early June. The Manitoba government did not directly respond to a question about whether it was aware of a whistleblower report involving the school. 'The ombudsman is the appropriate channel to deal with and investigate these matters,' a spokesperson for the department of advanced education said in a statement. The ombudsman's office indicated it cannot discuss specific inquiries or disclosures as they are treated confidentially. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The time it takes to assess disclosures and conduct investigations varies based on available information and the volume of inquiries, said Amie Lesyk, communications officer for the ombudsman. Jill Perron has been Manitoba's ombudsman since 2019. Lesyk said the ombudsman receives an average of 25 whistleblower disclosures under Manitoba's Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act annually. A report on 2023-2024 activity shows 23 disclosures of wrongdoing were submitted; 16 of them, two of which were acted on, were closed. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Global News
University of Waterloo researchers develop AI technology for Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles have called on researchers from the University of Waterloo to help them improve their pitching through the use of artificial intelligence. PitcherNet uses broadcast camera feeds and combines them with low-resolution footage shot on a smartphone. Jerrin Bright, lead researcher on the project, said the AI technology tracks different metrics to analyze a pitcher's performance. 'Most specifically, we find 18 joint positions of the human using the Hawk-Eye tracking system, and this skeleton is then basically used to find metrics like the pitching velocity and the spin rate of the ball,' Bright said. The Hawk-Eye tracking system has 12 high-speed cameras, which capture images at 200 to 300 frames per second that are played at multiple angles on the baseball grounds. Story continues below advertisement The U of W-designed system extrapolates the pitcher's entire throwing motion to re-create a level of detail using elaborate and expensive technology installed in most stadiums that host MLB teams. Its goal is to fill gaps in the technology and provide data that is typically available to the team that owns the stadium where a game is played, as is the case with Hawk-Eye. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'They wanted to build a system that can basically mimic the sophisticated system like the Hawk-Eye technology itself, but the catch here would be that you wouldn't have any depth information because we are just going to use single monocular camera and have a coach or a scout be anywhere in the ground, and they'll be able to capture the data and do analysis of the players,' Bright said. The project began in 2022 when the Orioles organization approached Bright and John Zelek, a professor of systems design engineering at the U of W. Bright said the goal is not to replace humans, but to help elevate a pitcher's game. 'They can use different essential systems to find these metrics, but we are just trying to build this just from a broadcast feed that you can see in your television to try to make it more accessible and easier for the coaches or the scouts,' he said. The Orioles organization has been very satisfied with the project, according to Bright, resulting in a two-year contract extension with the professional ball club. Story continues below advertisement He said their contract is exclusive to Baltimore and the U of W researchers haven't collaborated with other MLB teams. Bright said the AI technology could be used in other areas of the sport in the future. He said the AI technology could be expanded to help coaches in amateur leagues and college programs and also help improve scouting.
CBC
25-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
U of Winnipeg Wesmen teams get $120K donation from former volleyball champ turned developer
Athletes at the University of Winnipeg say a major donation for its Wesmen teams from a former university volleyball player will have a lasting impact on and off the court. Luke Lodewyks, a second-year athlete on the Wesmen men's volleyball team, joined U of W staff, coaches, athletes and community members to celebrate Allan Edie's $120,000 donation to the Wesmen Athletics program on Friday. "Being around a phenomenal group of people here at the University of Winnipeg has inspired me to be the best version of myself at all times," Lodewyks said, adding that the funding will encourage teammates to work hard for years to come. Second-year women's basketball player Jazmin Birch said being part of the Wesmen program has been one of the most meaningful experiences of her life. "To me, being a Wesmen [player] means being part of a community that pushes you to grow not just as an athlete but as a leader, a teammate and an individual," she said. "It means carrying yourself with honour, representing something bigger than yourself and constantly striving to improve." Birch said Edie's donation will inspire teams to work harder and dream bigger, and will also encourage younger athletes to give back to the program in the future. Edie, who went on to found Edie and Associates — a western Canadian real estate development and leasing company — was a player and two-time champion with the University of Manitoba's Bisons volleyball team from 1976-81. He made lifelong friends on the court, he said Friday, and has been reflecting on ways he could give back to the next generation of university athletes in Manitoba. "I was fortunate that I was given the opportunity to excel, and I carried that confidence into my business career," he said. "I am not 6'7 and I can't touch 12 feet, but I can still make a difference in the Wesmen volleyball program and hopefully the Wesmen basketball program." Edie called his donation a starting point and encouraged others, including Wesmen alumni, to also support the team to help show young athletes they are valued and keep them in the province. "These are Manitoba kids that are excelling at a national level. I'll support that all day, every day, and hopefully others feel the same way," he said. "The call to action is for people to come back and say, 'you know what, let's get together as a community and invest so that these programs don't die on the vine.'" The one constant in university sports is a lack of funding and support, he said, adding he'd like to see the University of Winnipeg offer full scholarship funding for athletes, as some other universities do. Earlier this year, the Wesmen women's soccer team was cut for the 2025 season due to a lack of financial support. A U of W spokesperson told CBC at the time the school was "prioritizing using its limited financial resources to support the core academic and research functions of the university." Edie said $100,000 of his donation will go toward whatever the Wesmen coaches and director of athletics Cara Isaak say is needed for the program, with the remaining $20,000 being dedicated to new volleyball and basketball uniforms. "You really share our vision for Wesmen Athletics, which is building on our legacy of excellence through consistent hard work for the success of our programs," Isaak said. "We measure it not just in championships, but in service to our communities and academic progress and each athlete's sense of belonging in our program, and of course, in the character that we show in victory and defeat." She said Edie has supported Wesmen athletes for years by cheering on players from the sidelines and encouraging them to pursue their passions. U of W president and vice-chancellor Todd Mondor said the donation will serve as a catalyst for ongoing support for the Wesmen program.
