The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the global community into a state of crisis. Research has demonstrated that during crises of pandemic scale, equity-seeking groups are disproportionately impacted (Ruhee Ismail-Teja, 2020). This includes lower-income earners, racialized peoples and women. These groups are also overrepresented in what have been deemed essential or “frontline” roles. Similarly, evidence demonstrates that during periods of stress, individuals utilize biased decision-making processes. Individuals and groups are more likely to neglect using an EDI lens when experiencing a stressful situation.

Partington (2020) argues that “EDI is a mindset: a way of thinking, speaking, acting and planning that can be continually improved. It is not a supplementary program that can be turned on when convenient and turned off when challenging.” Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects equity-seeking groups, and given that bias enters into our decision-making during periods of stress, this is not the time to put EDI aside. In fact, EDI must be a top priority as we navigate this turbulent time.

As a Humber employee, what strategies can be employed to ensure that Humber continues to be an equitable, diverse and inclusive space—a space that enables feelings of belonging?

1.  Address all instances of harassment and discrimination, including harassment in virtual environments.

Humber’s Human Rights Policy includes coverage of incidents of discrimination and harassment that occur both on and off campus, which affect Humber’s learning, working and living environments. Members of the College community have the responsibility to foster a climate of understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and rights of each individual and to discourage, prevent, and report discrimination and harassment by others. This includes taking specific action(s) to ensure the virtual environment is free of all racist, misogynistic or vulgar content.

2. Encourage students to come forward and speak to you about the barriers they may be experiencing.

Humber’s Accessibility Policy states: “It is the College’s goal to create a community that is inclusive of all persons and supports all members of the community in an equitable manner.” Recognize that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women, black communities, racialized communities, people with disabilities, immigrant communities, the LGBT2SQ+ community and Indigenous communities. Staff and students from these communities may be struggling. It can be challenging to understand the needs of individuals from these communities, as they are unique and complex. However, staff should be in the habit of helping create an environment where individuals are able to come forward and share some of the barriers they are experiencing.

3. Prioritize equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility as you redesign courses and course material for suitability in a virtual environment.

Accessible education is a key pillar in Humber’s Strategic Plan, and creating inclusive courses and learning environments that are accessible to all of our diverse learners is essential to an effective teaching practice. Build your courses and programs with accessibility and EDI as a top priority, rather than an “add on.” This might mean altering typical formats for class sessions/program delivery.

For more information, see: Humber’s Human Rights Policy

References

Ismail-Teja, R. (2020). Issue 25: COVID-19 is the ‘Great Unequalizer’. In A. Potter, C. Reboul and P. Sim (Eds.), Policy for Pandemics.
<https://maxpolicy.substack.com/p/issue-25-covid-19-is-the-great-unequalizer>

Partington, J. (2020). “A Mindset, Not a Program: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Time of COVID-19.” Academica Forum.
<https://forum.academica.ca/forum/a-mindset-not-a-program>

Deadline to apply: EXTENDED to June 8, 2020

Email completed forms to: falisha.rowe@humber.ca

Celebrate and recognize the great work that your colleagues are doing! Nominate them for the Innovation of the Year Award 2020.

Purpose/Goal:

The purpose of the Innovation of the Year Awards is to recognize College employees who have designed and implemented a significant innovation that positively impacts the learning of students in the College.

Eligibility:

All employee groups (full and part-time faculty, administrators and support staff) are eligible for nomination.

Criteria:

Criteria to be used for judging the merit of an innovation and its impact on students’ learning are:

• Creativity – The selected innovation will be as original as possible or be a unique adaptation of an existing program, process or concept.
• Effectiveness – There is evidence that the innovation leads to a better process for accomplishing a task(s).
• Replication – The significant components of the innovation selected can be replicated in other institutions with a minimum of difficulty. The description of the program will include any conditions necessary for replication.
• Timeliness – Innovation will not be more than five years old in the institution, but it must have been in existence long enough to have been tested.
• Currency – There is evidence that the innovation is current in content and adaptive to technological applications as appropriate.
• Collaboration – The innovation may demonstrate that a considerable collaboration effort has occurred between faculty/or college teams.
• Quality – Students and/or staff agree that the innovation increases quality in the course program, office or institution. Evidence of quality may include student ratings or letters of support for colleagues.

The Innovation must have a positive impact on students’ learning.

Silver Linings News is on a mission to find, collect and share good news stories and bright spots along the way in the fight against COVID-19. 

Each week, student content creators develop or curate content that is featured on a multimedia portal where people can find positive news to offset the often heavy COVID-19 related coverage.

Silver Linings News is a multi-disciplinary, student-driven project supported by the Office of Applied Research & Innovation and in collaboration with the Faculty of Media & Creative Arts. 

For your daily dose of positivity, check out www.silverliningsnews.ca, @silverliningsnews on Instagram or @silverliningsca on Twitter.

I am very pleased to announce that starting on Monday, June 1, Ruth Butlin has joined Humber as Director, Enterprise Applications. In this role, Ruth is responsible for supporting Humber’s enterprise applications including business analysis, enterprise solutions management, and enterprise technology services.

Ruth is joining Humber from the University of Guelph where she was the Director, Enterprise Applications in the Computing & Communications Services division. Ruth brings more than 23 years of experience working in technology services supporting higher-education institutions including the University of Guelph and Queen’s University. Recently, Ruth has led planning for reinvestments in cloud-based ERP systems at the University of Guelph including an update to the student information system, an HR transformation initiative and new approaches to data management and reporting.

In addition to her role as an administrator, Ruth is engaged in the academic community. For the Winter 2020 term, Ruth was a sessional instructor at the University of Guelph-Humber in the Media Studies program and is developing courses for Fanshawe College in the Business Information Architecture program.

Ruth holds a Masters of Business Administration degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from the University of Guelph and a Business Administration (Information Technology) Diploma from St. Lawrence College.

Please join me in welcoming Ruth to the Humber community.

Warm regards,

Scott R. Briggs
Chief Information Officer