UMFA Awards Nominations Now Open
Deadline is March 25
UMFA is now accepting nominations for the following awards:
ROY VOGT MEMORIAL AWARD
The Roy Vogt Memorial Award is to be presented to an Association member or past member in recognition of outstanding service to the Association. This award is regarded as the highest honour of the Association. If the member has not already been a recipient, the member will also be simultaneously nominated to receive the CAUT Dedicated Service Award. The award will be a certificate, as well as a contribution to the charity chosen by the award winner. For details, see: http://www.umfa.ca/who-we-are/awards/roy-vogt.
PAUL FORTIER PRIZE FOR STUDENT ACTIVISM
The $500 Paul Fortier Prize for Student Activism is presented to a current University of Manitoba student who demonstrates an active involvement in union related activities and/or community activism and/or activities aimed towards improving student life and/or working conditions of student employees, including markers, research assistants and sessional lecturers. For details, see: http://www.umfa.ca/who-we-are/awards/paul-fortier.
CAUT DEDICATED SERVICE AWARD
The CAUT Dedicated Service Award was established to recognize exceptional service provided by individuals at the local or provincial level. This award is granted by CAUT upon receipt of a recommendation from a local, provincial or federated association. For details, see: http://www.umfa.ca/who-we-are/awards/caut.
When submitting an application for either the Roy Vogt Memorial Award or the CAUT Dedicated Service Award, it is important to note that the Awards Committee reserves the right to assign nominations to the other award if they believe it is a better fit.
Deadline for nominations for all awards is 4:00 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
Merit Awards Application Deadline is March 6
Article 25 of the UMFA Collective Agreement provides for up to 33 Merit Awards of $3,000 each for UMFA members. You can nominate yourself or a colleague.
Applications/nominations are now being accepted for the calendar year 2025. Individuals who were members of UMFA as of March 31, 2025 are eligible to apply/be nominated.
The deadline for applications is 4:00 p.m., Friday, March 6, 2026. Full details, including award categories and how to apply, are available on the UM intranet.
The Organizing and Communications Committee needs you!
Are you passionate about making a difference? Do you have ideas and a great enthusiasm to share them? Do you have a knack for organizing social events? Maybe you're passionate about politics and want to see elected officials do more for post-secondary education.
Now is the perfect time for you to join one of the UMFA Organizing and Communications Committees. Choose from the Listening Tour Sub-committee, Election Action Sub-committee, Social Events Sub-committee, Safe Air Sub-committee, and the Bargaining Sub-committee.
Listening Tour Sub-committee
The best way to keep your colleagues connected to the Association is to talk to them one-on-one. Members of the OCC Listening Tour Sub-committee will be reaching out to UMFA Members throughout the year to hear what they have to say about their workplaces, and about how working conditions can be improved. Training and support provided!
Social Events Sub-committee
Have a knack for organizing social events? Join this OCC Sub-committee and help get your colleagues together for coffee, conversation, and other social activities.
Safe Air (formerly the COVID-19) Sub-committee
The Safe Air sub-committee works to educate and advocate for safe, clean air for everyone on our campuses. We advocate for improved ventilation to reduce transmission of airborne viruses and pathogens, create materials to support precautions in our workplace (masking, COVID-19 Teaching FAQ) and work together to advocate for a future of safe air on campus that goes beyond the current and on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
Bargaining Sub-committee
This committee is a new initiative to help support the bargaining team, Collective Agreement Committee (CAC), and Executive with member mobilization initiatives.
Whether you're a seasoned expert or you just want to bring a fresh perspective to the table, your unique skills and ideas are valuable assets that can help shape the committees' initiatives.
For information on how to get involved and for more details on each sub-committee, contact OCC Chair Jenna Tichon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Committee meetings are open to all members. The dates for each are on the website here: https://www.umfa.ca/news/meetings-events.
Opt-out of Sharing Fall 2025 SRI Results
If you taught during the Fall 2025 term, you’ll soon receive information about the release of your Student Ratings of Instruction (SRI) results. These quantitative results will be made available to students online—unless you choose to opt out.
The opt-out period has already begun. The deadline to opt-out of having your SRIs shared is Monday, March 16.
The opt-out is accessed via the UM Intranet here: https://umanitoba.sharepoint.com/sites/um-intranet-student-reflection-on-instruction/SitePages/sri-instructors.aspx#student-access-to-sri-reports
Last time, some members missed the deadline and their results were shared automatically. All members are encouraged to opt out.
While the University of Manitoba still uses SRIs as a tool for evaluating teaching, these surveys are widely recognized as flawed and biased. They lack context and do not accurately reflect teaching effectiveness. Even the University’s own Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and senior administration have acknowledged these issues. Additionally, the response rate is typically poor. For the last three semesters, the average response rate was a little under 30% as reported in Senate. Despite this, the administration plans to display SRI scores to students on UM Learn—risking further misuse and misunderstanding of this data. Opting out is the most effective way to push back against this practice and to protect how your teaching is represented.
Complete the form before the March 16, 2026 deadline.
