Announcements

When:
May 26, 2021

Enhancing Institutional EDI Knowledge of Disability and Academic Accessibility:

  • Many students with disabilities require more time to consolidate and process what they have learned. This may involve advanced access to and& frequent review of their readings and notes ahead of any quizzes.
  • Quizzes are practical scaffolding tools and if they are part of your lesson plan, please set these to be completed outside class time or provide a scheduled date. Pop quizzes during class or directly after class put many students, including those with disabilities, at a disadvantage.
  • Consider an alternative to quizzes such as a take-home application assignment or written reflection due by the next class.

Visit our Accessible Learning Services faculty site 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.

When:
May 25, 2021
Posters/Attachments: Event Poster
Poster for Call for Applications for the Post-Secondary, Degree and Graduate Assistance Program (GAP)

If you are a full-time (admin, support, academic) Humber College employee furthering your education in the upcoming academic year, you are eligible to apply for a scholarship of up to 50 percent of your annual tuition fees (up to a maximum of $5,000 per year) under the Professional Development Policy. This provision awards scholarships for post-secondary, degree, and graduate programs. The scholarship award is available for a program for up to four (4) years in duration.

The application deadline is May 31, 2021. All full-time employees interested in applying can find more details on the application process and forms in the links below:

Visit the HROE Learning and Development site for details on all Professional Development offerings.

Questions? Please email us at oe@humber.ca.

When:
May 21, 2021
Contact:
Sorsha Heard
Posters/Attachments: Event Poster
Showcase 2021: Amplify poster

Registration is now open for Showcase 2021: Amplify!

Join us on Thursday, June 3 for Showcase 2021.

This year’s theme is Amplify – amplifying voices, amplifying access, amplifying our efforts in the face of amplified challenges.

Showcase is Humber’s annual year-end faculty and staff celebration: An opportunity for us to be inspired and showcase our accomplishments, successes, and talents with each other.

This full day event will begin with welcoming remarks, followed by a variety of interactive sessions presented by over 35 of your colleagues, a virtual marketplace and keynote address called Advancing Belonging at Humber. The keynote is lead by john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

Click here to visit the Showcase 2021 website for more information and to register.

When:
May 21, 2021

I am delighted to announce that Dr. Dawn Macaulay will be Humber’s new Dean of Innovative Learning.

In this role, Dawn will provide leadership in the Centre for Innovative Learning (CIL) to the Digital Learning, Teaching and Learning and Flexible Learning teams to foster excellence in teaching and learning practices at Humber. Dawn will also work closely in the CIL with the Dean of Program Planning, Development and Renewal, the Dean of Research and Innovation and the Dean of Continuous Professional Learning to co-create a learning innovation ecosystem that supports every aspect of how we teach and learn across our programs.

Dawn brings a strong understanding of Humber’s strategic vision and learners’ changing needs to her new role. Dawn has deep experience in interdisciplinary approaches and working with cross-college teams to achieve common goals and support student success.

Dawn is currently leading a project to develop collaborative programming across all three partner institutions in the Global Polytechnic Alliance. She is also co-chair of the Strategic Enrolment Management Pathways Committee and the Degree Breadth Committee, where she has been instrumental in enhancing Humber’s processes in support of current and prospective students.

Dawn holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Since joining Humber originally in 2008, Dawn has been a Liberal Studies faculty member, Program Coordinator and Associate Dean. Her work within Liberal Studies has supported almost all of the colleges’ programs and has seen her collaborate with many colleagues across the academic division, Registrar’s Office and student services. 

In 2019, Dawn took on an interim role, providing leadership to the Teaching and Learning and Digital Learning teams. Dawn reviewed a number of key structures and programs and implemented new approaches to enhance supports to Humber's faculty.

Dawn will begin her new role on May 31, 2021 and will report to me.

Please join me in congratulating Dawn on her new role!

 

Vera Beletzan
Senior Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences & Innovative Learning

When:
May 21, 2021
Contact:
Andrew Ness

After more than 10 years of progressive and dedicated service within Humber International, Kim Smith has decided to retire. Kim’s calm presence, ongoing mentorship of others and her steady, positive departmental leadership will be sorely missed by all in the department and by the many colleagues throughout Humber she works with to support our international students. Kim will be leaving at the end of May. We’re planning a Teams farewell get-together on Thursday, May 27 at 3 p.m.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 932 170 5899
Passcode: GLOBAL

We’d love to have you join us to thank Kim for her superb work and to wish her well.

Andrew Ness
Dean, Humber International

When:
May 21, 2021
Contact:
Karina Butzek-Morris
A gold and a bronze medallion from CCAE Prix d'Excellence 2021

The Prix d’Excellence is an annual awards program of The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) that recognizes outstanding achievements in overall institutional advancement, including alumni affairs, public affairs, advancement communications, marketing, development, advancement services, and donor stewardship.

Humber is proud and honoured to receive two awards this year, the Gold Prix d’Excellence in Best Special Event for “Virtual Convocation” and the Bronze Prix d’Excellence in Best Advancement Services Initiative for “Implementation of Blackbaud Award Management.”

These awards highlight collaborative, cross-departmental efforts at the college that positively impact students, alumni, staff, faculty, and advancement initiatives.

When:
May 21, 2021
Contact:
Samantha Beauchamp

Once upon a time, data was stored, presented and interpreted in its raw form. Numbers, facts and statistics were crammed into unappealing pie charts, line and bar graphs. Today, the art of data storytelling is transforming the way data is visualized, leading to a deeper understanding of facts and statistics. The mix of scientific data, art and visualization communicates better insights and informs a data-driven decision-making process.

Find the full story from Applied Research and Innovation here.

When:
May 20, 2021

Premier Ford announced a three-step provincial reopening plan today that will gradually allow outdoor and indoor activities to resume over the months of June, July and August.

The plan, titled Roadmap to Reopen, outlines three steps to easing public health measures, guided by the following principles:

  • Step One An initial focus on resuming outdoor activities with smaller crowds where the risk of transmission is lower, and permitting retail with restrictions. This includes allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, outdoor dining with up to four people per table and non-essential retail at 15 per cent capacity.
  • Step Two Further expanding outdoor activities and resuming limited indoor services with small numbers of people where face coverings are worn. This includes outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people, outdoor sports and leagues, personal care services where face coverings can be worn and with capacity limits, as well as indoor religious services, rites or ceremony gatherings at 15 per cent capacity.
  • Step Three Expanding access to indoor settings, with restrictions, including where there are larger numbers of people and where face coverings can’t always be worn. This includes indoor sports and recreational fitness; indoor dining, museums, art galleries and libraries, and casinos and bingo halls, with capacity limits.

Some outdoor amenities, such as golf courses and tennis courts, will be allowed to reopen on May 22 at 12:01 a.m.

It is anticipated the province will enter Step One around the week of June 14.

Each provincewide stage will last at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. The three-step plan is tied to vaccination rates and other key health system indicators. Physical distancing, capacity limits and masking will continue for each stage.

The full release can be found here.

When:
May 20, 2021

After almost 15 years as one of Humber’s most senior and transformative leaders, and over 20 plus years in the K-12 and private sectors, Rani Dhaliwal has decided to retire at the end of 2021.  

Rani has made an indelible impact on Humber, the community and post-secondary sector and will be remembered for strengthening Humber’s financial position, building infrastructure and innovative system collaborations, and championing sustainability.  

Most recently, Rani has been focused on advancing our polytechnic priorities as Senior Vice President, Transformation and Strategic Partnerships. Rani has led our ongoing efforts to optimize revenue growth and diversification through new approaches to continuous professional learning, real estate education and corporate training. She has helped propel the Unlimited campaign towards its $50 million goal, guiding our approach to the college’s first ever significant public fundraising campaign. Rani has provided strategic leadership to our unique partnerships with the University of Guelph and Seneca College.

Previously as Senior Vice-President, Planning and Corporate Services & CFO, Rani provided leadership in the development and achievement of many ‘firsts’ for Humber, including: Campus Revitalization Plan; IT Plan and Cloud Strategy; Enterprise Risk Management framework; Integrated Energy Master Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan.

Through her leadership Humber’s financial position was strengthened to support the needs of unprecedented enrolment growth. Rani oversaw a record number of property acquisition and led several major capital building and technology projects, including:

  • The Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation and Learning Resource Commons (North Campus)
  • The Lakeshore Commons, Welcome Centre and Athletic Centre (Lakeshore Campus)
  • Banner Enterprise System

Rani championed the development of Humber’s Sustainability Strategy and drove significant institutional change that led to the achievement of STARS Silver and LEED Gold certifications and the college being repeatedly named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers.

Rani chaired Colleges Ontario’s Administrative Services Coordinating Committee and provided system level leadership for initiatives, like the reviews of the college funding model and system sustainability and the provincial creation of Strategic Mandate Agreements. Rani has passion for volunteerism and has served on many community organizations and boards including: William Osler Health System; World University Service of Canada; UNICEF Canada; OECM; CICAN and the Federation of Canadian-Brazilian Businesses.

I want to thank Rani for her contributions and wish her well as she looks forward to the next chapter in her life. I will be working with Rani on transition plans and will share more information about those in the coming weeks.

 

Chris Whitaker
President and CEO

When:
May 20, 2021

Enhancing Institutional EDI Knowledge of Disability and Academic Accessibility:

Accessible Learning Services Best Practice Considerations - Note-Taking Supports

  • Some students experience disability-related barriers around taking notes during class.
  • In order to facilitate access to notes, some students registered with Accessible Learning may be utilizing notetaking support through a service called Note Taking Express, which is coordinated through Peer Assisted Learning Services. Students using this service are required to sign an agreement indicating they will only share the recording with Note Taking Express staff and acknowledging other conditions to keep accountability while utilizing this service. 
  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing students may have a Computerized Notetaker (CNT) present in class to record lecture notes in order for the student to be able to focus and participate in the lecture. 
  • While faculty are not legally mandated to post their lecture slides/summaries/video recordings on Blackboard/CourseLink for all students, students with disabilities, in particular, may require access to such materials as an accommodation especially in circumstances where a CNT is needed.
  • A helpful way to encourage participation, some faculty assign all students into small “note-taking groups” where each week they arrange for one group to collectively take and share their notes on Blackboard/Courselink for the whole class. This supports students with disabilities and other students with diverse needs, which may impact taking notes during class in real-time. 

The National Deaf Center has an excellent resource guide for faculty supporting learners who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Visit our ALS Information for Faculty website to learn more about note-taking supports for students.

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.

 

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