Hello Humber community, 

I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Daniel Bear will be moving into the role of Director of the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) commencing Monday, August 21, 2023.

Daniel started at Humber in 2015 as a professor in the Bachelor of Social Science, Criminal Justice program. Beyond being an engaging professor in the classroom, he is also a funded researcher who focuses on drug policy, with an emphasis on both cannabis and harm reduction and the policing of drugs and community policing practices. Daniel is the Canadian lead for the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium, a group of researchers from 18 countries studying small-scale cannabis cultivation. He currently is the Principal Investigator (PI) on two funded research projects, an NSERC-funded project titled “Engaging and Education Young-Adult Cannabis 2.0 Consumers”, as well as a recently funded ATRP grant entitled “Development of a Data-Driven Human-Centered Design Process for Cannabis Education for Pharmacists”. Many of you would have engaged with this research during the CSI workshops we held in the spring.  

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Master of Science (Social Policy Research), and a PhD in Social Policy both from The London School of Economics and Political Science. 

In January 2023, Daniel took on the role of Coordinator, Faculty Initiatives in Social Innovation in the FSCS. In this role, he focused on strategies and approaches to develop processes and opportunities for the engagement of all members of FSCS to continue to build our internal capacity to support the work of the CSI. In the Director role, Daniel will work collaboratively with the FSCS administration team, the CSI Steering Committee, Advisory Committee, and the COI Network leadership team to meet the collaborative goals of the Centre.

Please join me in welcoming Daniel to this role!  

June MacDonald-Jenkins 
Sr. Dean Faculty of Social and Community Services
Principal, Lakeshore Campus

Good afternoon Humber community,

I am pleased to announce that Eve Montgomery-Ferguson has accepted the role as our first full-time Academic Program Manager in the Faculty of Social and Community Services (FSCS).  

Eve joined Humber in 2019 as a Program Support Officer, and in 2021 took on a secondment with Program Planning, Development, and Renewal (PPDR) as a Program Review Consultant. In 2022, Eve began as a contract Academic Program Manager supporting the Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) portfolio. We are very excited to have Eve on our leadership team in a permanent capacity. Eve will continue to support the CPL portfolio.

Prior to Humber, Eve worked at Western General Hospital managing and delivering a work-integrated learning program for college students. Eve also has extensive experience in the UK where she worked in various capacities at Edinburgh College, Perth College UHI, and ENABLE Scotland supporting both at-risk learners and students with disabilities. Eve holds a Bachelor of Social Work from TMU, and post-graduate certificate in Counselling Studies from The University of Edinburgh, and a Master's in Education from OISE. Eve is an organized and driven administrator who will continue to bring her rich experience in post-secondary to the role.  

Please join me in welcoming Eve to her role!

June MacDonald-Jenkins
Senior Dean -  Faculty of Social and Community Services
Principal, Lakeshore Campus

Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE) is pleased to announce the publication of Examination of Manual Removal Strategies for Dog Strangling Vine by Lynn Short, Sophia Bearden, Bella McWatch and Lana Hafez. 

Abstract:

In the summer of 2019, the Junior Naturalists posed a question regarding the control of Dog Strangling Vine (DSV), an invasive plant that is present in the Humber Arboretum. This group conducts stewardship activities in the Arboretum to help balance the environment by using non-chemical methods to control some of the invasive plant species there. They had been cutting off the flowers of the DSV to prevent seed production, but this did not affect the survival of the plants. This research project was created in response to the group’s question. Four strategies were studied for their efficacy in controlling the growth of DSV. These strategies were digging out the plant, pulling out the stalk, cutting the crown beneath the soil surface, and cutting the stalk above the soil surface. While each approach has its benefits and drawbacks, digging the entire plant out of the ground was found to be the most effective in preventing the regrowth of the individual plant. The research is intended to guide student gardeners working in ornamental gardens at the Arboretum and stewardship volunteers working in public parks in non-chemical strategies to be used for controlling DSV. The most effective control efforts should be repeated from year to year, which can result in long-term control of DSV in cultivated gardens and natural areas.

This study has limitations since it was enacted on natural areas that had already been overtaken by DSV, which means that the numbers of plants, seeds, and other species in each plot were not consistently uniform. In a subsequent investigation, standardized, cultivated plots of DSV could be created and different competitive native species could be added to determine the effects of treatments on these combinations.

Read the full article

About JIPE

Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE) is an online, open-access journal for peer-reviewed papers that mobilize knowledge and insights generated by the global polytechnic community. JIPE is electronically published by Humber Press at Humber College’s Office of Research & Innovation. JIPE is accepting submissions on a rolling basis. To learn more about JIPE, please visit jipe.ca or email humberpress@humber.ca.

The Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology (FAST) will soon gain a skilled, compassionate, and innovative leader. Please join me in congratulating Francis Syms on his new role as Associate Dean within the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology. Francis will oversee the Information Communications and Technology (ICT) portfolio which includes the following programs: Computer Programming Analysis; Enterprise Software Development; Information Technology Solutions; Computer Systems Technician; Wireless Telecommunications; Cloud Computing; and Artificial Intelligence with Machine Learning.

Francis joined Humber in 2019 as a professor/researcher in the PSI program and 2023 moved to Associate Dean in the Continuous Professional Learning portfolio of the FSCS (Faculty of Social and Community Services). Francis has a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master of Applied Science with more than 20 years of rich industry experience in professional engineering, IT, business, and product development, where he was a successful and strong leader. He is a certified project management professional and professional engineer (PEng.) which will serve him well in this role at FAST. 

While Francis will be missed within the FSCS, we are also excited for him as he continues his professional journey at Humber.

Join us in congratulating Francis as he moves into this exciting role at FAST. While Francis will move into this role in mid-July, he will also remain with the FSCS during the role transition to ensure the CPL portfolio is fully supported.