On Friday, November 18, all flags at our campuses will be lowered to half-staff in memory of Samuel Rios. Samuel was in the Film and Television Production program. He passed away on November 11 and arrangements for a memorial service are being made at Highland Funeral Home in Markham.

The Humber community is deeply saddened by Samuel’s sudden and untimely passing. The College has been in contact with his family to express our condolences, and will continue to provide support to faculty, staff and students who knew him. It is clear from conversations with Samuel’s family that he made an incredible impact on the lives of those he came in contact with and that he will be missed dearly. Today, we honour that impact and hold him and his loved ones in our thoughts.

Ian Crookshank
Associate Vice-President, Learner and Career Success
Dean of Students

We are excited to welcome Leslie Furlonge (she/her) as the new Manager, Clinical Services (Health Centre) effective November 21, 2022. She has more than 20 years experience as a frontline nurse, primarily in critical care/ICU nursing, and also many years in the community working with various populations to advocate for accessibility of resources and health care services. More recently, her role has been in a rehab hospital, first as Patient Care Manager and then Director of Patient Care, including the pharmacy, IPAC and lab, overseeing over 300 clinical staff and hospital operations.

She brings energy, compassion, and a love of data, process and people to her work. Her goal is to provide healthcare and wellness services that are evidenced-based, equitable, inclusive and meets the needs of our learners, staff, community and partners that we aim to serve. 

Personally, she is a parent to two young adults who keep her well schooled in what's cool. She believes in the importance of physical and mental health wellness and enjoys many activities, especially ones that are outdoors. Please join me in welcoming Leslie to the Humber community.

Leah State
Director, Student Wellbeing

As we move into the winter months and the many social gatherings that happen at this time of year, it’s important that we take steps to keep the most vulnerable in our communities, whether family, friends, students, colleagues or those working on the front lines safe. 

Earlier this week, Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health strongly recommended that Ontarians wear masks in indoor public spaces and social settings as the hospital system simultaneously battles three respiratory diseases – COVID-19, influenza and RSV. Hospital Intensive Care Units in the province are struggling with capacity as children, particularly those under the age of four, have been acutely impacted by these viruses.  

With this latest information, Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber strongly encourage everyone to wear a mask while in public and indoor settings, including on campus. Many of our community members have young children, seniors and immuno-compromised individuals in their lives and reducing community transmission requires collective action.  

Vaccines continue to be our best defence against these infectious diseases and the College strongly encourages everyone to get their flu shot and COVID-19 booster shots as soon as you are eligible. We continue to employ enhanced cleaning protocols on campus, including frequent cleaning of high-touch areas.  

I also want to remind the Humber community to practice good health measures and layers of protection, including:  

• Do daily self-screenings for respiratory symptoms.  
• Stay at home when sick, feeling unwell or experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness.  
• Practice good hand hygiene.  
• Stay up to date with vaccines, especially COVID-19 boosters and the flu shot.  
• Wear a mask in indoor public settings.  

Individuals are responsible for bringing their own mask to wear on campus. There may continue to be situations in which masking and other personal protective equipment (PPE) is required at Humber. If your learning or working environment fits these criteria, masks or other PPE will be provided to you by your Faculty or department. Disposable medical masks will also be available at various locations across the college campuses and work sites.  

Humber and the University of Guelph-Humber are not reinstating mandatory masking or vaccination policies at this time. A cross-college working group continues to meet regularly to discuss any new developments in the province or new guidelines from public health officials. As we have throughout the pandemic, we will continue to act in consideration of public health direction and may adjust our approach as circumstances continue to evolve.  

We know that the past three years have been challenging and that changing health circumstances and public health directives can be stressful and exhausting. We want to see the successful completion of the Fall term and we know that working together to reduce transmission can help achieve that. 

Stay safe and be well.  

Ann Marie Vaughan 
President and CEO

Accessible Learning Services shares some best practices considerations:

• Students may miss assignment deadlines or tests/exams. For students with disabilities, it could be due to an unpredictable flare-up of their condition outside of their control. 

• It can be difficult for faculty to balance academic rigor and accountability for what students are to learn, with a fair and manageable process for those who miss required tests/exams and assignments. 

• Consider creating a contingency supplemental assignment or alternate version of each test/exam that can be used during the semester as needed.  

Visit our ALS Information for Faculty website to learn more about accommodating students with disabilities. 

Please email us at accessible-learning@humber.ca with suggestions for key accessibility-related topics that you would like us to address through the Communiqué.