Award Recipients

Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber (Humber) are leaders in providing a learning, working and living environment that recognizes and values equity, diversity and inclusion in all programs and services.  We are committed to cultivating an institutional culture that values, supports, and promotes equity, human rights, respect, and accountability among faculty, staff, and students. In our inclusive Humber community, we encourage and support individual and collaborative efforts to identify and address inequities.  We welcome and enable contributions of all voices as we engage with diverse ideas, knowledge, and perspectives in the pursuit of inclusive excellence for the public good. 

This commitment requires identifying and addressing formal and informal barriers and biases.  Determined to make this change, the Center for Human Rights, Equity & Diversity under the leadership of Nancy Simms has focused on weaving human rights and equity into the fabric of the college community at the individual, interpersonal, organizational and administrative levels. 

In the 2018‒2023 Strategic Plan, Humber College identified “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” (EDI) as intentional imperatives for the College under the strategic pillar of a healthy and inclusive community. While the College already had a robust EDI program, it recognized the need to expand, deepen, and integrate its breadth throughout Humber. One of the commitments under this strategic pillar was to create an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Framework and Strategy.  

To deliver on this commitment, Humber established an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce in 2019 comprised of members from across the Humber community, with Nancy Simms as the Taskforce Lead. The Taskforce engaged a broad group of employees, students, alumni, community-based organizations and industry partners in a consultative and collaborative process to develop the Institutional EDI Framework and Strategy. The EDI Framework and Strategy was officially launched on April 14, 2022.   

Recognizing that achieving EDI goals requires responsible and accountable leadership at all levels, the inaugural recipient of the newly launched EDI category under the President’s Award is Nancy Simms for advancing EDI and the progress towards achieving an equitable and inclusive college community.  

Education is one of the bridges to equity. This belief guides Nancy Simms and her work in the areas of anti-racism, equity, adult basic literacy, human resources, and human rights. As the Director of Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion at Humber College, Nancy’s principal task is to weave equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging throughout the College community. Additionally, Nancy is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where she teaches Critical Race Theory to first and upper-year law students. Nancy is currently completing her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (University of Toronto) – her research addresses racialized faculty and administrators in Ontario Colleges. Nancy is a leader in the field of human rights, equity and inclusion; with many organizations calling upon her for guidance and wisdom in driving equity, inclusion and belonging throughout the public, private and non-profit sectors.