Watch the President's Breakfast Video: youtube.com/watch?v=ZH2sMnbmTVI

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Good morning and welcome to the 35th annual President’s Breakfast. I hope you’ve had a great summer and found time to relax and enjoy the season. We have another exciting year ahead, and this morning is a great way to rev up the big Humber engine. I particularly wish to welcome everyone new to the Humber family and all who are at the breakfast for the first time.

Let me also recognize our board of governors, past and present, and other friends of Humber who are here this morning. It’s wonderful to have two past presidents with us today: “Squee” Gordon and John Davies.  Welcome gentlemen and congratulations to Squee on his well- deserved appointment to the Order of Canada.

I want to acknowledge my wife Vicki for her constant support and for sharing me with Humber.

And a special welcome and congratulations to the 2016 recognition awards recipients, who will be formally recognized today for their contributions to Humber.

It’s been four years and five breakfasts since arriving here in the summer of 2012 and let me say what an honour and privilege it is to serve as your president.

I like to say that great institutions are built on great traditions, and 35 years is certainly a milestone for our breakfast. This morning we celebrate Humber’s past, present and future and the many people who have contributed to our success.

As you saw in the video, there’s a lot to celebrate and much to be proud of. Think about how far we’ve come. We’ve grown from a few thousand students to 30,000 today. We’ve gone from an extended family to a large modern organization. If Humber were a city, it would be about the 40th largest in Ontario. That’s bigger than Orangeville – sorry Joe.

And this breakfast has changed. We still get a great meal, but I’m getting up earlier every year to start cooking. As you can see, the room is packed, as we have taken steps to include as many members of the Humber community as possible. As Jason mentioned, the room looks different this year in alignment with our institutional value of sustainability.

And while some things change, our purpose, our mandate and our pride in what we do remains constant. We continue to focus on providing learning opportunities that meet our students’, employers’ and communities’ needs.

We are a destination of choice for many learners due to our reputation for excellence and innovation in our faculty and programs. We are an employer of choice as shown by our ability to attract and retain talented employees. Our efforts were rewarded this year, as Humber once again received recognition as being among Canada’s top corporate cultures.

We are able to celebrate success because we have adapted proactively to a constantly changing environment – all while respecting our past and embracing opportunities to innovate and improve. And for this I have all of you in this room to thank. Everything we achieve and all of our success depends entirely on your skill, knowledge and willingness to do the right thing for our students and the institution.

So let’s put a little context around this changing environment as it helps us understand our priorities and recent accomplishments, and informs our future thinking and initiatives.

We are operating in conditions of declining levels of public funding, shrinking numbers of direct applicants, and increased competition. From 1987 to 2014, operating grants have decreased by 37 per cent. Further, the percentage of direct applicants to colleges across Ontario has fallen consistently over the last few years. At Humber, we’re more fortunate than others, as our share of the domestic student market has increased to a five-year high of 11 per cent, and we are the only GTA college to have an increase in confirmations over last year.

Public perceptions and expectations are shifting traditional attitudes about what we now call advanced education. Learners are increasingly looking to optimize the return on their educational investment by embracing new modes and options for learning, such as online programs, work-integrated learning and other non-traditional approaches, and employers are seeking graduates who possess technical skills along with flexibility and versatility. They want employees with competencies and credentials.

Technology as an enabler of innovation and disruptive force is the new normal for our time, which many are describing as the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This has many implications in terms of how we deliver programs and services and our ability to provide relevant and timely curriculum.

I’m pleased to say that we’re responding to these changing times. More than fifteen thousand students are participating in our five hundred and fifty online offerings including sixty fully online programs. And new programs such as the Journalism Graduate Certificate, Bachelor of Behavioural Science and Welding Techniques certificate are fully subscribed.

To further emphasize the pace of change, a recent report from the World Economic Forum estimates that 65 per cent of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up in job types that don’t exist yet. 

Perhaps an even bigger challenge for us, and society generally, is how to prepare learners for a future that may have fewer jobs as a result of technological transformation where automation continues to displace entire categories of work. This disruption will continue to threaten the relevance and viability of many programs and the associated careers our students aspire to. While we focus on being responsive to labour market and employer needs, we can also play a role in defining the jobs of the future and shaping our changing environment.

For us at Humber we take the challenge as an opportunity. I take confidence in our model of education that, to paraphrase Wayne Gretzky, can adapt to wherever the puck is going. Our polytechnic approach already has us moving in the right direction. Postsecondary institutions have been criticized in recent years for their failure to deliver value and for being disconnected from the realities of a modern economy and their learners’ needs. While much of this has been directed at traditional university education, we can all take lessons from the narrative.

When I read historian Ken Coates’ critique of the “dream factories” and the global disconnect between the mass production of university grads and the needs of the global economy, I think about how we need to double down on our efforts to better inform parents and students on the realities and implications of the choices they make with respect to higher education. When I read Jeff Selingo describing the need to reinvent the baccalaureate degree, I hear affirmation of our learning centered, applied and experiential model of professional education and training.

Humber’s approach to teaching and learning continues to gain respect and has drawn greater interest in recent years particularly given the challenging labour market. Our specific polytechnic model is further differentiated by our broader range of credentials, along with the chance to work with industry partners, to conduct applied research, and to learn from those with experience in their field.

It’s clear to me that we are truly focused on developing the professional of the future who will find success because of the combination of deep technical skills and broad cross-disciplinary aptitudes for long-term resilience and adaptability – the T shape that I spoke to graduates about at this spring’s convocation.

Our focus is reflected in our current and maturing strategic plan. Now entering its fourth year, the strategic plan has been a tremendous journey of learning and accomplishment. Guided by our formal commitments to students, our priority has been to invest in areas that enhance the quality of the learning experience. This includes programs, people, services, and infrastructure.  

We have learned that we need to work more effectively to make the best use of our resources. Working together and breaking down silos is not simply about more meetings. It’s about working smart, understanding the interdependencies in all we do, asking the right questions, listening closely and believing that greater collaboration and knowledge sharing leads to better results.

We are creating conditions and building capacity to optimize our ability to act and adapt in an environment of greater ambiguity and uncertainty. As learners’ needs, jobs, and competencies evolve, we can take comfort in our strong foundation that allows us to build the bridge to the future as we are crossing it.

Our priorities of leadership in polytechnic education, a focus on teaching and learning excellence, and maximizing the impact of partnerships all support the commitments we have made in our student success framework, which is the core of our strategic plan. As we begin to approach the end of our current plan, I’m pleased to celebrate with you all of the initiatives that we have completed together. At the same time we are raising our sights and aligning emerging priorities with our current direction.

Recognizing that we need to balance the pursuit of ambitious goals with the realities of an increasingly challenging fiscal environment, we spent time this past year reflecting on what should be our overarching priorities until 2018 and the end of our current strategic plan. We landed on two areas: our Academic Plan and new market development.

Under the leadership of Laurie Rancourt, our Senior Vice-President, Academic, Humber’s first academic plan is the result of significant research and input. It brings together and connects a number of existing and new initiatives and provides a road map for teaching, learning and student success that extends far into the future. Specific areas of priority for the next two years will be developing our Centres of Innovation and refining our strategy and approach to flexible learning.

Closely related to these areas will be an emphasis on new market development. Learners are everywhere, not just in full-time programs, and learning should be accessible in many ways through different modalities. For example, we are launching a new corporate training business unit this year – and we are also partnering with the Vanier Centre for Women and the John Howard Society to provide pre-apprenticeship training, academic upgrading and career support for those who have been involved in the criminal justice system. 

Promoting flexible learning and our Centres of Innovation will extend our reach into existing and new markets. This will strengthen enrolment as well as contribute to revenue diversification as we continue to find ways to offset declining levels of public funding.

We will also strengthen the elements that distinguish Humber from other postsecondary institutions: our program and credential mix and associated pathways, innovation in teaching and learning, internationalization and entrepreneurship.

These high-level priorities provide context and focus as we build on the many significant achievements of the past year.

And what a year it’s been.

Continuing to put students at the heart of everything we do, we have made a number of significant infrastructure investments to enhance student life and learning. Most of you have no doubt noticed that both the North and Lakeshore Campuses look a little different this fall. The opening of the Learning Resource Commons last September resulted in the availability of almost one hundred and forty-six thousand square feet of space in other buildings. Accordingly, the North Campus Backfill Project has worked hard to prioritize and plan for the best use of that space to benefit our students and employees.

We are also embarking on similar planning at the Lakeshore Campus, as we celebrate the openings of the Student Welcome and Resource Centre, the Fitness Centre and the Centre for Entrepreneurship in G Building. The process will complement the completion of our Campus Master Plan, which includes renovation and expansion of the A/B Building and addresses space requirements for Centres of Innovation as envisioned in our academic plan. 

In addition to enhancing students’ academic and social experience, the building projects at both campuses have gone a long way to addressing the space challenges that we have experienced as a result of our ongoing growth.

Our work to improve our physical space doesn’t stop there. We are expecting to hear shortly about potential funding from the federal government’s Strategic Investment Fund for a new Centre of Technology and Innovation, to be built at the North Campus. Envisioned as an idea accelerator, the CTI will combine Humber’s expertise in entrepreneurial education, advanced manufacturing and new enterprise development. Working in collaboration with our School of Applied Technology, the School of Media Studies and Information Technology, and Humber Research, students will hone their creativity and innovation skills by working closely with community and industry partners – helping Canadian companies compete in a global marketplace.

Also contributing to this new facility is the single largest donation Humber has ever received: $5 million from the Barrett Family Foundation. The first $4 million from this generous gift is the starting point to creating an exciting, leading edge intersection between creativity, technology and entrepreneurship, while the balance will go towards scholarships for students in technology-related programs.

Another significant project we will undertake this year is the creation of an Integrated Energy Master Plan, designed to meet some ambitious sustainability goals, including using at least 50 per cent less water per student and causing at least 30 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions by 2034.

This project aligns with our overall institutional goal of sustainability, and in this area, we’ve had some external validation that we’re on the right path. The LRC just recently achieved LEED-gold status, and Humber was one of three Canadian colleges named as Canada’s Greenest Employers last year.

Finally, in anticipation of upcoming North Campus construction, both of the CTI, and of the highly anticipated Finch West LRT line, we’re addressing the ongoing challenge of parking – yes, everybody’s favourite topic of conversation. Starting in January 2017, we will be building a 1000-stall parking garage that will ease the congestion.  

And beyond these visible activities related to growth and enhancing our campuses, there is a lot on the go and we have much to celebrate and look forward to.

First of all, we’re preparing for our 50th anniversary celebration next year.  Along with provincial activities to mark this significant milestone for all Ontario colleges, a number of Humber-specific activities are being planned. There will be many opportunities to get involved so please stay tuned.

And while I’m not going to provide any spoiler alerts, I will tell you that in recognition of the two hundred and fifteen thousand alumni that have graduated from Humber, we will be establishing a 50th anniversary scholarship fund to help our students be successful, graduate and become the next generation of Humber alumni. We have already earmarked $220,000 for this initiative with proceeds from the annual Humber Gives campaign, our golf tournament and other fundraising efforts.

On the international front, this fall we will welcome the largest-ever number of international students to Humber: thirty-seven hundred students from more than 100 countries, and that number is expected to climb above forty-one hundred this winter. And we’re not just drawing people in – we’re going out into the world, developing partnerships with institutions in Denmark, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, China and India so our students and faculty can experience a global education for themselves.

On the people side of things we’ve continued to address recommendations based on our last employee engagement survey as well as enhancing our range of professional development offerings. 

For employees, we’ve improved communications with staff and faculty by making the daily Communique newsletter available automatically, and we will be revamping its webpages so they’re more visually appealing and user friendly. We are also addressing both formal and informal employee recognition and soon will be introducing a new tool to support peer recognition.  

Over the past year, Human Resources delivered eight thousand hours of learning and development training to more than eighteen hundred employees. And, specific to our values of respect and inclusion, the Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Diversity provided human rights-related training to more than four thousand students and employees.

The Centre for Teaching and Learning continued to be a hub for faculty development and scholarship. This year fourteen hundred faculty and staff completed eight hundred hours of professional development.

Further, through the scholarship of teaching and learning and the Teaching Innovation Fund, 30 faculty members have conducted classroom research, including two large-scale projects, Academic Integrity and classroom redesign.

And this year saw Humber Press publish two academic titles and launch two academic journals.

Through Student Success and Engagement, we continue to place priority on seeing our students through the entire cycle of their time here at Humber, from orientation to convocation. In support of this, we have introduced cross-institutional student advisor training, and have launched a co-curricular record, which provides a formal record of the skills developed outside of the classroom. Communication and training related to our sexual violence policy is further contributing to our efforts to ensure the Humber experience is safe and supportive for everyone.

And please indulge me for boasting a little more.  The Humber community’s collective accomplishments are simply too good to keep quiet. I’m sure you’ll want to applaud all the way through, but if you do, we’ll have to ask Jason to bring in lunch for everyone, so please save your enthusiasm for the end.

• The Humber Literary Review was nominated for a prestigious National Magazine Award for an essay written by Krista Foss in just its third issue.
• Electromechanical engineering students Avery Bird and Theodor Willert won gold in mechatronics at Skills Canada, and will be heading to World Skills in Abu Dhabi in October 2017.
• At the 2016 JUNO awards, Humber Music alumni and faculty were nominated for 17 JUNOs in 13 different categories and won seven of them.
• For the second year in a row, Humber journalism students have won the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada’s national award for best podcast/current affairs show for their election coverage.
• Humber’s varsity athletics is the most successful college sports program in Ontario, leading both the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association in overall medal count. This year, our teams won six national and 12 provincial gold medals in individual and team sports – and Humber athletes Ceejay Nofuente and Jesse Assing swept the OCAA female and male athletes of the year across all sports.
• Our Business School hosted its first CPA Accounting Case competition, with student teams finishing second and third overall.
• The School of Health Sciences launched its new diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the first of its kind at a publicly- funded college in Ontario.
• The School of Social and Community Services received almost two hundred thousand dollars to assess and evaluate the success of the Toronto Police Service’s Neighbourhood Policing Program, continuing a significant partnership with TPS and giving our students the opportunity to participate in valuable applied research.
• Our School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism developed a partnership with Longos as part of their Healthy Changes Program, promoting healthy lifestyle changes to Longos and Humber employees. This program lays the foundation for the Centre of Innovation in Health and Wellness.
• Our Aboriginal Resource Centre welcomed the Honourable Paul Martin and Justice Murray Sinclair as it worked with schools and students to enhance Aboriginal education across the college.
• And at Guelph-Humber, their graduates are succeeding nationally as shown by Toronto Police Service's chief, Mark Saunders, who joins a group of 16 alumni who have attained the rank of Chief of Police in Canada.
• And we hosted both the League for Innovation and Polytechnics Canada annual meetings – along with many other important guests and events –that allowed us to show off our facilities and student and faculty achievements.

There are many, many more achievements I could highlight – faculty and staff who have completed PhDs, won prestigious teaching awards, published books, appeared on television shows, or took their students on life-changing global learning experiences. The list is just about endless, and it is so inspiring for me to be surrounded by so many accomplished people, each and every day.

I am certainly grateful to be here, and, in closing, I have some specific thank yous.

First, to Ignite, formerly the Humber Students’ Federation, you play a significant role in supporting our students and building a dynamic and engaging student culture on campus, and I thank you for all you do.

Thank you as well to Humber’s Board of Governors for your commitment, insight and enthusiasm in making Humber a vibrant place to learn and work.

To my executive team – Alister, Jason, Laurie, Lori and Rani – thank you for your exceptional leadership, energy and dedication. 

I also have to thank Deborah Green, because she told me, but I can’t remember what it’s for.

Thank you to Jason Powell for your energy and enthusiasm and the admirable job you do emceeing this breakfast.

Finally, to our amazing faculty and staff: I am so proud of all that you do! Thank you!

Things are changing inside and outside our walls, and we are well positioned for the future and continued leadership in postsecondary education. Your hard work and dedication has helped Humber grow and transform for the better.

The Humber brand is strong. Our reputation for excellence and innovation in teaching and learning continues to bring us record enrolment and more applicants than any other college. We are proud of our students’ and faculty achievements, which we promote through media coverage, the web and social media. Their stories fuel our marketing, recruitment and retention efforts and support our polytechnic vision.

Every day, from Orientation to Convocation what we do leads to great experiences for our students. They arrive in awe and they graduate with pride. And we will keep doing what we do best – providing a campus community where students feel challenged, supported and successful.  

Our goals are ambitious and our plans are aspirational because our students, province and country deserve nothing less. I’m confident that together we will continue to achieve great things.

Thank you for joining me today, and I wish you all the best for a successful and exciting year.

We Are Humber!