Academic Council Highlights Report
Academic Council met for the last time this academic year on June 12, 2012 at the North Campus. Here are the highlights of our meeting.
President’s Remarks
John Davies addressed Council with some parting remarks, focusing on some of the major themes on the horizon for both Humber and postsecondary education in Ontario, and expressing confidence in the college’s present positioning. He emphasized that Humber is extremely well-prepared for the future, due to our many different kinds of credentials, which provide multiple pathways for students once they enter Humber. President Davies ended his remarks with a statement of confidence in the incoming president, Dr. Chris Whitaker, to lead Humber into the future.
Program Planning and Development
Humber has applied for consent renewal for the Bachelor of Applied Technology (Industrial Design). The application will include adjustments to the curriculum that strengthen the program, including a reduction in the number of courses and a restructuring of some of the courses. The application also involves a change in nomenclature to Bachelor of Industrial Design, in order to be more consistent with typical nomenclature for programs of this type.
Student Leadership Institute
Aisling Burke gave us an update on the second annual Student Leadership Institute. This year’s theme was “Inspire Change.” The annual two-day conference is open to all Humber and Guelph-Humber students; this year 95 students participated. Participants stayed in residence, and attended a wide variety of sessions on topics such as mentoring, communication skills, values, volunteerism, and public speaking. The conference was very successful; of 73 students surveyed, 100% strongly agreed or agreed they will be able to apply what they learned in the future, and that it added value to their overall experience as a student at Humber. Aisling was accompanied by two students who participated in the Institute, who spoke about how valuable it was to learn about their strengths, network with other student leaders, and become inspired to get involved in community activities.
Council News
- We welcomed many new members to Council and thanked those who have come to the end of their terms. Your departments will be letting you know who your new representatives are.
- Council held elections for Chair and Vice Chair. The new Chair is Henri Berubé, and the Vice Chair is Nancey Adamson. We thanked the outgoing Chair, Suzanne Iskander, and Vice Chair, Rhonda Harrison.
- Our annual retreat was held on Monday, June 11 at the Lakeshore campus. The topic was student mental health, and the workshop, delivered by Jen McMillen and Dr. Rummy Gill, was entitled “Blind Side: Coping with Life’s Challenges”. We learned how to distinguish between behaviour problems and mental health problems in the classroom, and we worked through responses to various scenarios that could potentially arise among our students.
- This year, the annual ACCC (Association of Canadian Community Colleges) conference was held in Halifax, and Humber sent four delegates: Nancey Adamson, Rhonda Harrison, Kalene Morgan, and Kirk Rintoul. They spoke enthusiastically about the sessions they attended, on topics such as aboriginal issues, industry and community partnerships, and education and technology. The conference also provided valuable opportunity for networking; our delegates remarked on the fact that institutions of different sizes and demographics, and across the entire country, are facing many of the same challenges.