The U of M board of governors approved Michael Benarroch’s second term as university president on March 20.  

Initially selected as the university’s president in 2020, Benarroch’s second term is set to begin July 2025.

“We have a really exciting future here in the next five years,” Benarroch said. 

Benarroch said he sees “a lot of potential for the university around student supports.”  

“We want to continue to invest in our students,” he said, listing several services, such as childcare and mental health, that are already in place at the university. 

Benarroch said the university has been working with the provincial government toward supporting international students, including returning to the provincial health care plan for international students.

He said he plans to work toward “reconciliation and Indigenization” in the upcoming years, saying “there’s a lot more work to be able to do,” especially around “recruiting and retaining” Indigenous students.  

Benarroch believes that there is a “really bright future” in making the U of M a “place where Indigenous students can prosper and come and learn”

Benarroch began his first term during the outbreak of COVID-19, which “completely turned upside down what I expected my job to be in my first two years,” he said. 

He said during the pandemic, he found that students, faculty and staff came together. He learned to be “flexible” and “adjust” with new information and policies from the government. 

“You really have to remain flexible at times and put your ego aside and do what’s best for the institution” he said.  Benarroch said that he has to “admit sometimes, you know, we didn’t get that right, we’re going to shift.”  

Benarroch said he is “very proud” of the university and the work that has been done as a “team effort”. 

“There continues to be a bright future for the University of Manitoba,” he said. “The past was bright, but I think the future will be even brighter.”