Current is a festival of arts, media and design showcasing the work of graduating students from the Faculty of Media & Creative Arts. Featuring live and recorded performances, screenings, exhibits, networking events and portfolio shows. Current celebrates the ingenuity and professionalism of an electric group of storytellers.

Connect with them at humbercurrent.ca starting April 19, or claim your ticket to one of our live events now!

New Commodity/Account Code for 2021 Home Office Expense

Please be advised that a new commodity code 577 and account code 7057 for home office expenses have been created for 2021 reporting purposes. The Employee Reimbursement Form has been updated to reflect this change. This will enable the College to provide necessary home office expense information for T2200 reporting in the future, should the need or requirement to do so arises.

Ordering Supplies When Working From Home

Any supplies and/or equipment required to work from home should be pre-approved by the requestor’s manager prior to any purchase. Managers should reference the Expense Reimbursement Policy and Procedure and should use their discretion with regards to approving items requested due to the need for staff to work from home. Wherever possible, the most cost effective option should be approved. Once approval is granted, the requestor may purchase the supplies and complete the Employee Reimbursement Form, attach electronic copies of receipts and submit their request for reimbursement via email to the Manager that pre-approved their initial request.

Completed Employee Reimbursement forms must include appropriate FOAP allocation and electronic receipts and can be circulated via email to your Manager for approval. Managers are able to approve an employee reimbursement in one of two ways:

1. Signing the completed form electronically and emailing the signed form, receipts and FOAP’s to Accounts Payable, or
2. Emailing the completed form, receipts and FOAP’s to Accounts Payable indicating their approval in the email.

As per usual practice, staff will be reimbursed by electronic funds transfer. Please keep all original claims and receipts for audit purposes, as we may contact you to provide these up to seven years from original date of claim. Any questions regarding employee reimbursements should be directed to Accounts Payable.

COMING SOON!

Starting in May 2021, you will be able to submit a request for out of pocket expenses via Chrome River, and approvals will be completed electronically going forward.

The Humber College Council (HCC) held its seventh meeting of the 2020-2021 academic year on Thursday, March 18, 2021, online using Microsoft Teams. To ensure the Humber community is informed of upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, the College Council reports the highlights of its meetings. For more information or to provide feedback on these highlights, please contact risha.toney@humber.ca.

Roundtable

Donna O’Brien-Sokic [Faculty of Media & Creative Arts] brought forward a student concern that there is a communication gap related to international students extending work visas and participating in internships as part of their program. Laurie Rancourt [Senior VP, Academic] will relay this concern to the Dean of International and determine next steps.

Applied Research & Innovation.

Ginger Grant [Dean, Applied Research & Innovation] and Raeshelle Morris [Innovation Program Manager, Applied Research & Innovation] provided Council with an overview of what is involved in building a research culture at Humber. The Applied Research & Innovation (ARI) department is made up of five key areas: Innovation, Research & Development, Operations, Humber Press, and the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SOTL).

G. Grant discussed how at Humber, we conduct phenomenon-driven research which is most relevant to polytechnic education. Research is conducted in this way to protect the institution, our ability to innovate, and to reduce risk. We follow our strategic pillars and explore how to operationalize our vision and mission of lead, transform and differentiate. Ideas are encouraged to be brought forward to the ARI department.

As an educational institution, Humber has access to various funding sources including tri-council grants – NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR. The ARI can help determine if an idea can qualify for a grant. Five College and Community Social Innovation fund grants were filed last year and awaiting approval. In 2020, Humber was 6^th in Canada for research potential, rising from 30^th in 2017. At the moment, we are close to seven million dollars in holding grants. The ARI has created a database on organizations, researchers, and students interested and involved in research, as well as research areas, projects, and awarded grants. See their website for more details.

The department holds various ‘building capacity' workshops and trainings – including grant coaching sessions - offered to all staff across all faculties and departments. Stay tuned for several sessions being held in the spring. There are also plans for a Summer Innovation Buffet podcast series to be held in June and July.

Government Relations Update

Kelly Jackson [Associate Vice president, Government Relations, Marketing, and Communications] and Jennifer Larson [Public Affairs Manager, Government Relations, Marketing, and Communications] provided an update on Government Relations (GR) activities at Humber over the past year. There are several GR goals, one of which is to connect Humber’s vision and priorities to those of government.

An overview of advocacy priorities during COVID-19 was provided. These included class size caps and exemptions, and the summer reopening pilot; and the nursing and engineering degree approvals. Humber recently hosted the Premier of Ontario at the launch of Humber’s standalone nursing degree. Looking ahead to Spring 2021, both the provincial and federal budget will be presented as well as an announcement on the annual tuition fee framework. Advocacy on class size caps will continue as this will have an impact on planning for the Fall 2021 semester.

J. Larson highlighted the Humber Cultural Hub as a case study on how GR is involved. Considerations for GR are monitoring funding opportunities and creating grant applications; increasing awareness of the project and its benefits; engaging with key stakeholders including government officials, community groups and individuals, and relevant local (i.e. Arts & Culture) organizations; and considering potential issues such as permit or planning challenges, impact of the pandemic on arts & culture, and community concerns related to the impact on the neighbourhood.

Council members were asked to consider and provide input on what is Humber doing well that would be important to communicate to government and where can Humber improve upon their communications, related to what government may not understand about Humber. Feedback was provided to the speakers after discussion took place in smaller MS Teams breakout rooms.

Farewell to Cynthia Lessard

Risa Handler [Chair, HCC] took the opportunity to say thank you and give a warm farewell to Cynthia Lessard. This was Cynthia’s final College Council meeting as April 1 was her last day at Humber. As the Executive Assistant to the Senior VP Academic, Cynthia was the Secretariat on Council. From minute-taking to planning to contributing to the overall direction of Council, Cynthia played an integral role on HCC and its executive for over four years. Cynthia is pursuing her passion for teaching and we wish her all the best.

The next meeting of the College Council will be held on Thursday, April 15, 2021. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, and opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the College Council website.

After 33 years at Humber College, Joe Andrews, principal, Orangeville Campus has announced his retirement as of August 31, 2021.

As a proud Humber graduate and after charting a very successful career in Canadian media, Joe was hired as a professor in 1988 in the Radio Broadcasting program. Committed from day one to making a difference in the classroom, Joe inspired his students to be the best they could be in preparation for the competitive media world.

In 1990, Joe was appointed Coordinator of both the diploma and post-graduate Radio Broadcasting programs where the faculty team collectively guided hundreds of today’s well-known personalities, radio news journalists and media leaders. He was also instrumental in helping Humber to secure the first FM radio license for a college in Toronto. 

Progressive throughout his Humber career, Joe continued to take on additional responsibilities over the years and even found time to complete a Master’s Degree in Communications in 1998. Joe has been a key and valued member of several Humber committees, has represented the institution on international projects, and has received both education and industry recognition including; Humber’s Outstanding Faculty Award, a NISOD Award of Excellence, the first inductee to the Humber Radio Hall of Fame in the Builders Category, and the Robert A. Gordon Leadership Award for his leadership of the Orangeville Campus project.

A passionate postsecondary educator, Joe has championed the vision of the Orangeville Campus since October 2005 in the capacity of Director Community Relations, Director of Campus Operations and as Campus Principal linking Humber to the Dufferin County region while leading an incredible operations staff and faculty until its closure in June of this year.

I have had the pleasure of working closely with Joe since my arrival at Humber in 2014 and wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank him for his professionalism, his dedication, and his unwavering commitment to Humber and the Orangeville community. It was obvious to me from day one how much Joe cares about Humber and our students, and how much he loves the work that he does. I was not surprised then to hear that Joe plans to remain professionally active after his retirement. He will continue to fulfill his current part-time elected role on Orangeville Council and also plans on dabbling in some media consultancy projects.

To ensure that friends and colleagues have the opportunity to connect with Joe before he retires, we will be organizing a farewell event in the coming months. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating Joe on his well-deserved retirement and wishing him well as he leaves to spend more time with family and friends, and to continue the renovations at his cottage north of Parry Sound.

Laurie Rancourt
Senior Vice-President, Academic