Dear Humber community,

As I prepare to transition to my new role of retiree, and walk the halls of Humber one last time, I am taking this moment to thank you for your support and friendship over the years. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of walking alongside you as we worked through the many opportunities and challenges that came our way. You have achieved significant goals and started some powerful conversations and calls to action over the years and I know you will continue to respond in equally powerful ways.

The list of what I am proud of from my time at Humber is long. On my first day I commented on the energy and the caring nature of all who worked here. As I prepare for my last day, I would say the same thing. It is the people who truly make Humber what it is.

You are in good hands with President Vaughan, and I will miss working with her and the Executive Team as they craft Humber’s next strategic plan together with all of you.

Jason Hunter will take on the position of Acting Vice-President, HROE until the role of Vice-President People(s) and Culture is hired. I have learned a lot from Humber and all its great leaders. I will always remember you and my time at the college and leave with many fond memories.

Thanks for all that you do to advance inclusivity and equity at Humber. Farewell.

Lori Diduch

Flags will be at half-mast on Friday, September 30 to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The Government of Canada recently passed legislation to make September 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day is an important step in the reconciliation process. It provides an opportunity to recognize and commemorate the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools, and to honour their survivors, their families and communities.

More details can be found in Humber's statement on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

A Humber research team is designing and developing a novel case for mobile air monitoring systems to collect environmental measurements. The project, Design Enhancements of Mobile Air Monitoring System, is led by Principal Investigator Sherif Hanna, professor in the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology (FAST), and Co-Investigator Shaun Ghafari, Associate Dean for the Advanced Manufacturing Cluster at Humber.  

The research team is collaborating with industry partner Ecosystem Informatics Inc. (ESI). The results of this project will help ESI overcome the limitations of traditional measurement techniques and offer a more accurate and reliable measurement alternative product. 

The research project received the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Engage grant ($25K) in 2022.  

Learn more about the project

This year, for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, and in partnership with Humber's Indigenous Education & Engagement, Humber Libraries is launching Audiobooks for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, the start of a new collection of audiobooks by Indigenous authors, and on Indigenous issues. We hope this collection encourages everyone in the Humber community to continue to learn more about Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.

• Learn about the history of the residential school system with A Knock on the Door: The Essential History of Residential Schools, published in collaboration with the National Research Centre for Truth & Reconciliation. 
• Listen to Indigenous classics such as Tomson Highway's Kiss of the Fur Queen, a hauntingly beautiful tale of two Cree brothers in the residential school system in Manitoba, or Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist from the Potawatomi Nation, who merges Indigenous wisdom with science to explore the teachings of plants.
• Enjoy Brian Thomas Issac's All The Quiet Places, a coming of age story of a Sylix boy in the 1950s, which won the Indigenous Voices Award in 2021. Or listen to Michelle Good's Five Little Indians, a story following teenagers finding their way in the world after residential school, which won CBC Reads in 2022.
• Hear Alicia Elliot read from her book of essays A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, which explores trauma, legacy, racism and oppression from a Haudenosaunee lens, or listen to Drew Hayden Taylor read Richard Wagamese's manuscript One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet, published shortly after his death. 
• Listen to the letters written between Leanne Betasmosake-Simpson, Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg artist and writer, and Robyn Maynard, author of Policing Black Lives, as they articulate Black and Indigenous perspectives on climate change, slavery, colonization and more, in this new release, Rehearsals for Living. 

Access these audiobooks and more in this collection by visiting Humber Libraries' OverDrive, or Download the Libby App to listen on your mobile device or tablet.

The National Day for Truth & Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day takes place on September 30, to honour the Indigenous children who were sent away to Residential Schools, and to raise awareness of the tragic legacy which continues to impact Indigenous communities in Canada. This is a day to reflect on what true reconciliation means for Indigenous peoples in Canada, to learn about the history of Residential Schools, the experiences and lessons learned from the voices of Residential School survivors, and to continue to work to ensure that the 94 Calls to Action are being met. 

Visit Humber's Indigenous Education & Engagement for further resources on Truth & Reconciliation: 

• Orange Shirt Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Audio & Visual Resources on Truth & Reconciliation

Access more of Humber Libraries Indigenous resources by exploring the Indigenous Research Guide.

For further book recommendations, please connect with us: library.humber.ca/contact