An assembly of faculty, support staff, students, and administrators, Humber College Council (HCC) is Humber’s collective employee voice, making suggestions to Humber College’s President as it relates to long and short‐term priorities outlined in the institution’s Strategic Plan. To ensure the Humber community is informed of upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, HCC reports the highlights of its monthly meetings through this medium.

HCC held its seventh meeting of the 2021-2022 academic year on Thursday, May 12, 2022.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AT HUMBER

Jenna Donelson, director, Public Affairs and Strategic Engagement provided an overview of the college’s Government Relations department. Government Relations at Humber focuses on building relationships with the Government of Ontario’s civil service and political staff and working on mutually beneficial priorities. This involves bringing them to campus and meeting with them virtually or at Queen’s Park. For example, Humber recently worked with the Government of Ontario on changing the policy that required Humber to partner with a university in order to offer a standalone nursing program. The Government Relations office also supports all other areas of the college that interact with government.

IGNITE STUDENT UNION

Ercole Perrone, chief executive officer, IGNITE provided an overview of IGNITE for council members.

IGNITE is a non-profit and the only official voice for Guelph-Humber and Humber students. They are a for impact organization like a professional association and are independent from Humber and interdependent with Humber. They have permanent staff and a Board of Directors that turns over every year. Each year, they conduct a reputation survey with students through a market research firm. In 2022, they received an 8.38/10 score.

IGNITE’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan focuses on three pillars:

1. Student Life: supporting students in getting the most value out of their student experience
2. Personal Life: support for their growth as a person
3. Future Life: preparing students for their life after college/university.

The organization’s 2022-23 priorities include a focus on:

• Leadership and Advocacy: amplifying student voices and advocating on their behalf when it comes to affordability, accessibility, accountability and quality of their campus experiences.
• Career Success: advocating for compensated work-integrated learning and mentoring programs.
• Well-Being and Financial Security: continuing to challenge food insecurity and address mental health access, particularly for equity-deserving students
• Program Audit: to review all of IGNITE’s programming and adjust student fees accordingly.  

CURRENT INTIATIVES AT HUMBER’S APPLIED RESEARCH

Ginger Grant, dean of Research and Innovation, presented on her department’s current initiatives which are divided into three streams:

1. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL): Focuses on why we teach the way we do and how to make it exciting and engaging.
2. Applied Research: Focuses on various areas of research, such as social innovation (community development), artificial intelligence, and sustainable architecture
3. Humber Press: Focuses on publishing Humber’s research through journals and other venues.

Applied Research is currently looking at the way we work. For more information on Humber’s Applied Research, visit the Office of Research and Innovation’s 2020-2021 Annual Report.

ARBORETUM UPDATES

Janet Almeida, associate director, Operations of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellness, acting director for the Arboretum and Jimmy Vincent, coordinator of education, Camps and Outreach at the Humber Arboretum presented on the Arboretum’s history and current initiatives.

The Arboretum was conceived in the 1970s. Students envisioned a living lab where they could put their learnings into practice. The Arboretum is a project of the City of Toronto, the Regional Conservation Authority, the City of Etobicoke and Humber. It is a thriving natural ecosystem and outdoor learning space that advances the highest potential and well-being of the community through strengthening the Humber community’s relationship with nature and with each other. It offers opportunities for students to engage in nature – from environmental stewardship to work placements, co-curricular activities and simply socializing with friends.

For example, the current Learning by Leading™ Program was developed by the University of California at Davis Arboretum and Public Garden and is based on the idea that students learn best by taking leadership in helping to solve real-world problems. The Arboretum was selected as the only public garden in Canada to be part of a pilot project to create a network of Learning by Leading™ programs at public gardens across North America. For more information visit the Learning by Leading Program website and to learn more about the Arboretum’s learning programs, visit the Learn tab on their website.

Over the last few years, the Arboretum has been revitalizing the Humber Pond and connected Humber Wetland that plays a key role in managing runoff water from Humber College's north campus before it reaches the Humber River. The project is a collaborative initiative to improve the pond’s water quality while increasing natural habitat for wildlife, providing new social gathering spaces for our community, and creating an outdoor classroom and living laboratory space for students. For more information, visit the Pond Project website.

Recently, the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Affairs office contacted Humber about making the Humber Arboretum one of the Seven Sacred Fire Sites within the City of Toronto.

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH UPDATE

Lori Diduch, vice-president, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness provided an overview of the process Humber followed to select its 5th President and CEO. Efforts were made to obtain a diverse and qualified group of candidates and to profile Humber’s strengths and unique polytechnic education profile.

The search commenced in the fall of 2021. A Presidential Search Advisory Committee was created, a survey was conducted, and stakeholder groups were consulted. Materials were developed and posted on the Presidential Search Website, including a position profile and About Humber video to showcase Humber to the new candidate.

Ninety-one strong applicants were secured. Thirteen were presented to the Search Committee and eight candidates went through two rounds of interviews. A finalist was interviewed by the Board and the Board is currently finalizing next steps. The candidate will be announced shortly, and they will assume their position in the summer/fall.

NEXT HCC MEETING

The next Humber College Council meeting will be in September when the fall academic term commences.

For questions or comments about HCC meeting highlights, contact regan.mancini@humber.ca. For supporting materials or opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the College Council website or contact shovani.samalia@humber.ca.

The mask mandate at Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber (U of GH) will remain in place until June 30, 2022. With several larger indoor gatherings planned for the next month, including convocation, this decision was made out of an abundance of caution and taking public health recommendations and campus environment trends into consideration.

Well-fitting masks that cover the nose, mouth and chin will continue to be required within any indoor college facilities. 

Unless the public health situation in the province changes dramatically, in July and beyond, indoor masking on campus will be a personal choice. 

Humber and U of GH will always be caring communities and mask-friendly environments. Tips on how to respectfully navigate situations you might encounter on campus will be shared in the coming weeks and months.  

There may continue to be scenarios in which masking is required, including working or learning environments in which close proximity is required for extended periods of time.  

Everyone is encouraged to continue to complete the self-screening in the Humber Guardian app before coming to campus each time. As a reminder, if you are feeling unwell, do not come to campus. 

Throughout the pandemic, we have focused on creating safe places to learn, work and live. We appreciate your continued cooperation and consideration of others.  

Humber is committed to continuous quality improvement and engaging students in this process. At the beginning of June, the college will administer the online ‘Ontario Colleges Student Experience Survey’ (OCSES) that has replaced the previous ministry KPI Student Satisfaction survey. This survey will measure student experiences related to teaching and learning quality, program related knowledge and skills, work integrated learning (if applicable), and student services and resources. The results of the survey will allow the college to identify strengths and areas of improvement.

All students in full-time, funded programming who began their studies in Winter 2022 and are currently enrolled in their second semester will receive a personal survey invitation through email on Monday, June 6. The survey will remain open until Friday, June 17 at midnight. Key messaging will be communicated to students by Humber to promote the survey and encourage completion.

For questions about the survey, please contact Jean O’Donnell at Jean.o’donnell@humber.ca.

On May 4 we were joined by OCAD University and Université de Lille for a symposium on Public Art. Together we explored the art that we the public want to have access to in hopes to expand access and engagement in the arts. Conversations spanned from student activations, to it's intersections with health, and architectural possibilities. 

Today we're happy to announce that recordings of each session are now available at: https://www.theartwewant.ca 

Photo detail of Capsule Caudry, 2003 by Matali Crasset, photographed by Andre Morin.