The President’s Breakfast marks the start of a new academic year.
If you were unable to join, you can view all the speeches and the President's Awards ceremony.
Videos from this year's President's Breakfast:
President Ann Marie Vaughan’s Speech
Good morning and welcome to the President’s Breakfast. Thank you for joining us today in person or on the live stream. I would like to thank Jason Merai, Anam Ahmed, and Kimberly Daniels for their fabulous hosting this morning – please give them a round of applause.
I have been looking forward to this day for a while and I am happy to see all of you.
A year ago, I stood on this stage on day two of my time at Humber. I have spent the days and months since then listening, learning and being inspired by the work happening here, the values demonstrated every day and the people who make Humber all that it is. I think I can safely say that, while I have many more places to be, I have been around.
Thank you to every faculty member, support staff and administrative staff for all you do for our students and one another, to ensure that Humber is the ideal place to learn, work and live.
I am grateful for what you have shown me, the leadership you have demonstrated and the support for our students which is second to none. This is evident in their successes in the classrooms, labs and on the fields, the courts and beyond.
Our Humber Hawks continue to soar and break records and I am proud to welcome some of them to this morning’s event. We have with us:
Sarah Baptie, who is a Kinesiology student at the University of Guelph-Humber, led the conference with a 57.9 field goal percentage in Women’s Basketball.
Jaskarn Kalsi, a Financial Services student, is a two-time Provincial Champion in Men’s Volleyball.
Catarina Medeiros, a Sports Management student, was 2022 All-Academic in Women’s Soccer.
Yuvraj Panaish, who is a Justice Studies student at the University of Guelph-Humber, was named 2023 OCAA All-Academic and the 2023 Humber Hawks Spirit Award winner for his performance on the Men’s Rugby team.
Natasha Stasiuk, who is a Developmental Service Worker student, won a bronze medal in golf at the Special Olympics Worlds Games, along with a host of other impressive finishes.
I have had the opportunity to see some of you play and I couldn’t be prouder of what you have accomplished. You are a shining example of what is possible at Humber, where educational opportunities are coupled with numerous ways to be engaged as a student!
Here is some of what I have learned over the past 367 days.
Humber is a vibrant community of teaching and learning. It is a landing place and a launchpad. And it is a place where we are deeply committed to inclusion and belonging.
Humber’s scale of operations and industry partnerships are one of the largest in the country.
Through our specialized mandate as one of only five Institutes of Technology and Advanced Learning in Ontario, we offer more degrees than any other college and we support skilled trades, the healthcare sector, creative and cultural industries and almost every facet of the economy through apprenticeships, certificates, diplomas, degrees, graduate certificates and hopefully soon applied master’s degrees.
Humber’s impact is global, and we share our expertise to empower and support others in underdeveloped and developing countries, while learning from them along the way as well.
Humber’s Centres of Innovation Network is taking the college’s polytechnic approach to the next level, connecting students to businesses and community organizations to meet today’s economic, social and cultural challenges through innovation and collaboration.
Our scope and scale are part of what makes us Canada’s most comprehensive polytechnic institute. This comprehensiveness also comes from our commitment to offering work-integrated learning in all programs.
Despite our size, Humber is a community. It has the feel of a well-knitted community. That is an important and critical aspect of creating any sense of belonging.
The breadth and depth of talent within the organization is awe-inspiring.
We provide our students with the opportunity to showcase their skills, abilities and knowledge on the local, national and international stages. This year, Humber students continued to receive awards in their areas of study, including skills competition, and we are pleased to have some of the winners with us this morning.
With us today is Sandra Wong, a Funeral Director 1 student who received the INEX Closing Affairs Awards in April.
As well as Sonny Walton, a Bachelor of Public Relations student who was the 2022-2023 recipient of the Hill+Knowlton Excellence in Diversity Scholarship.
In May, Paxton Coghlin and Dillon Kong won a gold medal in the Mechatronics (Team of 2) division at the Skills Canada competition, as well as a best of region award for Ontario. They have now qualified for WorldSkills in Lyon, France next fall and in a few weeks, they will travel to Lyon to compete at the French Nationals providing them with a valuable and enriching international experience.
Humber students also had a terrific showing at the Skills Ontario competition in May including four gold, two silver and three bronze medals. The silver medal winner for Electronics, Alfonso Miguel Alvaran is also with us today.
In addition to excelling at Skilled Trades training, we continued work on the more than 16,000 square-foot expansion of the Centre for Skilled Trades and Technology. Humber hosted an announcement of the Schulich Foundation’s Schulich Builders: Scholarship for Skilled Trades Program to which we welcomed the Premier of Ontario and three Ministers.
We live in a world that is changing at a rapid pace – faster than we have ever experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic showcased just how quickly things can change and how we can adapt to keep pace when we are called to. We know what this community is capable of, I have certainly been inspired by it throughout this past year.
In the last decade, Humber has changed and grown so much, in every aspect.
Our revenue has increased by 90 per cent and our research spending grew from half of a million dollars in 2012 to $3.7 million dollars annually.
We have added 44 programs, including 15 degree granting programs.
Humber’s student body has also grown across the board:
Since 2012, domestic and international enrollment has increased by 34 per cent.
Enrollment at the University of Guelph-Humber has grown by 26 per cent.
Our physical spaces have grown as well. In the last decade we added or improved more than one million square feet of space. In addition to physical infrastructure, the college has also made significant investments in specialized labs and new technology platforms.
In the next couple of years, we will also be adding more than 350,000 square feet which includes 317 new residence beds with the completion of the Humber Cultural Hub at Lakeshore Campus and the expansion of the Centre for Trades and Technology on Carrier Drive.
We have grown and we have adapted to the changes in the world around us and in response to what our students and our communities need.
Now we are in a post-pandemic world, but we haven’t truly started anew just yet. We are at an important crossroads that presents the opportunity to set our future by design.
The challenge before us is to equip our students with the foundation that they need to navigate this rapidly changing world and to lead the change they want to see. We want to create an environment that propels the next generation of leaders into the future to impact our communities, the economy and society at large.
In May, the World Economic Forum released its Future of Jobs Report 2023. The predictions made in the 2020 report about a “post-pandemic” world were almost all off the mark. According to this latest report, the jobs of the future are ones we can’t even conceive yet. Preparing for a future like that is going to call for creativity, innovation and no fear of failure.
That’s why today we are going to do something a little different. We are going to focus on the future of Humber. A future that we can only imagine if we break free of the current constraints, systems and processes and dare to think bigger and BOLDER.
It is a time for choosing the future we want and then setting the groundwork to get there. As you heard mentioned earlier, we are already working on our Academic and Digital Campus plans that lead us to 2026 and we want to think of that timeframe as a springboard into our collective future. We are calling this visioning process “Humber Inspired,” it is an opportunity to think about 2030 and beyond.
The size, scope and scale of Humber also means that people are wondering what we will do next. We are positioned to think and transform polytechnic education on a global scale. The future path is uniquely ours to create.
Where would we go if we could go anywhere?
I know for many when you think far into the future, you might think of flying cars, and a robot doing all of your housework for you. That might not be exactly what we are talking about today, but it does set the scene and I hope it helps inspire you to begin thinking outside of box.
As the current leader in post-secondary education, Humber has a responsibility to continue to lead. We have a bigger purpose, and that is to push the sector locally, nationally and globally forward — beyond its comfort zone.
I invite you to look around the room. This space is filled with talented people, incredible assets and resources, inspiring students, knowledge and skills and untapped ideas. I am so very proud to be here and proud to be a part of the Humber team.
So why Humber? Because if not Humber then who? Who else has the knowledge, the talent, the capability and the desire to achieve more?
While other institutions chase targets of 10 per cent improvement or growth, we envision 10 times. What they are talking about achieving by 2030, we are already doing. We have the collective opportunity to reshape how we do things – to go in new directions – to dream about the future world we want to see and position Humber to lead it!
How do we get there? That’s where you come in. Humber Inspired is a visioning exercise, not a strategic planning process - yet - and it only works if all of you bring your passion for students, higher education, this institution and our community to the table and shoot your shot.
It requires us not to be encumbered by the past – not to say, “well, we tried that before”, or “they’ll never go for that.” Rather, to say “and” …not “but” - yes …not no – future ...not past or present.
As Eleanor Roosevelt said: “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” I am inviting you to DREAM...
Humber has an incredible, long history of success and leadership in the post-secondary sector. We cannot rest on our laurels and expect that position to continue without innovation. We can’t be complacent or fear failure when thinking of the big ideas.
Blackberry was an innovator once upon a time, and almost every back pocket and purse had one in it. But when they stopped moving forward and evolving, other technologies took over, consumers went elsewhere, and it’s rare to see anyone who still has a Blackberry now.
Conversely, India surged on the international stage last week being the fourth country to reach the moon by successfully landing a space craft on the lunar south pole. This feat has sparked India’s space mission to new heights.
Humber Inspired is about moving forward, and it means that we all need to work together with a common purpose. I invite all of you on this journey of discovery for the future of Humber and higher education.
Are you ready to join us? Let us know. I encourage you to be inspired and push the envelope.
We have a history of being first. It’s a proud history and one we want to continue. It’s all of you who will help us stay ahead of the pack. I look forward to hearing about all your big, bold ideas.
My deepest appreciation to all of you for the warm welcome to Humber and for the awe-inspiring work to do each and every day. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us!
When we look back on the accomplishments of the last year and think about the months and years to come, it’s the people of the Humber Community who make it all happen. It’s now time to celebrate the contributions of some of these individuals and teams with the annual President’s awards.
