After more than 32 years of service, Ann Dean has retired from Humber. She parts the college in her most recent position of Dean, Program Planning, Development and Renewal. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ann sincerely for her numerous and varied contributions to Humber’s success over the years. While it’s challenging to sum up Ann’s notable career dedicated to both teaching and program development, the following summary provides some insight into the significant impact that she has had on the college.

Ann started her career at Humber in 1984 as a faculty member in the Department of Human Studies where she taught for several years, while also developing new courses based on a strong interest in curriculum and instructional design.

In the late 1980s she joined the college’s curriculum development unit (later known as Planning and Development), as Manager of Training and Development. In that role, she worked on many new Humber programs and became part of a college team that took on external contracts focused on competency based education at the provincial, national and international levels. Throughout the 90s, in support of Humber’s international agenda, Ann developed and delivered occupational analysis and curriculum development training to professionals and educators from around the world, both at Humber and overseas, including in Brunei, Bangladesh and several regions of Malaysia. 

By 1998 Ann had become an Associate Director in the Planning and Development department and it was around this time that she was asked to co-chair a curriculum development committee responsible for the development of the University of Guelph-Humber joint programs. The committee was critical to developing a successful set of joint programs and supporting the development of the college-university partnership.

In the fall of 2001, Ann was seconded for a year to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, joining the just-created Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB) secretariat. At the time this was a newly formed, arms-length agency established under provincial legislation to review degree applications for ministerial consent which included degree applications from the colleges. Ann was the only person with a college background invited to serve on the secretariat. 

At PEQAB, Ann contributed to the development of the standards and benchmarks for degree submissions, while building a strong network of colleagues across the ministry and the college system. Recognizing her contributions, she was asked to stay for a second year. In 2003 Ann returned to Humber’s Planning and Development Department, and to the new role of Director of Program Development, where she worked with several gifted curriculum development specialists in support of Humber’s ambitious growth agenda.

In 2013 when the unit was reorganized after Rick Embree’s retirement, Ann became the Dean of Program Planning, Development and Renewal, making her Humber’s first “Dean Dean.” In this role, she led a dedicated team who work in collaboration with the academic schools on program development, review and quality assurance. Ann also led the development and management of accreditation applications and outbound articulation agreements. Over the years Ann has also offered her expertise and knowledge on countless Humber committees in support of many key strategic plans and directions. 

I know that many of you had the privilege of working with Ann during her time at Humber, and will miss having daily access to her expertise and wise counsel. I’m sure we will all be asking ourselves “What would Ann Dean do?“ for years to come. Information regarding an opportunity to connect with Ann and celebrate her retirement will be forthcoming in the next Communiqué. 

Warmest regards,

Laurie Rancourt
Senior Vice President, Academic