This month, we’re celebrating a significant Humber milestone. A year ago, the Inclusion & Belonging division was created to continue the implementation of Humber’s EDI framework and to better coordinate our efforts to strengthen equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging across the institution. As the inaugural Vice-President of Inclusion & Belonging, I’m proud of the work we accomplished together and grateful for the support we’ve received from everyone at Humber. I want to thank the EDI Taskforce for their foundational work throughout its mandate. While the Taskforce’s mandate concluded in March 2023, their important work continues. As we celebrate our first anniversary, it is a moment of reflection, gratitude, and looking at the road ahead. 

As a newly formed division, we brought together the Office of Indigenous Education & Engagement (IE&E), the Office of Sustainability, and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB) office to take an intersectional approach to building a more inclusive Humber - one in which everyone can feel they belong. We will continue to work closely with the People(s) & Culture division, including the Office of Human Rights and Harassment to advance this important work.  

Here are some of our highlights: 

• Position of Dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging was established and filled; 
• Humber’s Inclusive Hiring Initiative was launched, commencing with the Faculty of Liberal Arts; 
• The Spirituality and Wellness Centre opened; 
• The Pride flag was painted on Humber North Campus sidewalk; 
• The Every Child Matters mural was installed at North Campus; 
• Humber and University of Guelph Humber Libraries curated the Equity & Inclusion Hub; 
• Inaugurated flag raising ceremonies for Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation flags at North Campus; 
• Conducted 4 Seasons of Reconciliation training since 2020, with more than 2,000 employees trained, and an additional 5,000 international students scheduled; 
• Launched a new and redesigned offering of Indigenous Teaching & Learning Bundles; 
• Began the Sustainability Vision 2024-2029 Engagement Process. 

While we have much to celebrate, I know there is more work to do. As we move ahead, it is incumbent upon all of us to look at Humber through an inclusion and belonging lens and to strengthen our efforts on building mino nawendiwin (good relationships) with the communities we engage, both on and off campus. We all have a place and role to play in the important work that lies ahead. By working together, I’m confident that we can continue building a future at Humber where every individual experiences a profound sense of belonging. 

Thank you, 

Jason Seright 
Vice-President, Inclusion & Belonging

Are you interested in being a part of a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) at Humber? If so, Humber’s JOHSCs are looking for new members!

The JOHSC is an advisory body that is made up of worker (Faculty and Support Staff) and management (Administration) members who work together to address and promote health and safety in the workplace.

Why should you become a JOHSC member?

• Active Involvement: Contribute to the enhancement of safety across our campus community.
• Networking and Engagement: Attend regular JOHSC meetings to foster collaboration.
• Hands-On Experience: Participate in inspections of campus buildings and workplaces throughout the year.
• Knowledge Enhancement: Engage in training opportunities and participate in walkthroughs of newly renovated areas.
• Time Commitment: Worker members on the committee are allotted an average of two hours/week to conduct committee activities. There are five JOHSC meetings a year, and members will complete approximately three workplace inspections a year.  

Vacancies are currently available to fill for support staff members at the Lakeshore Campus JOHSC, and at the International Graduate School JOHSC. If you are a support staff employee at one of those locations and are interested in becoming a member of your JOHSC, please reach out to your union at the following address:

• Support staff: local563@gmail.com  

If you are a faculty member, please reach out to your union (info@opseu562.org) to express interest in joining the JOHSC. If you are an administrative staff member, please reach out to Occupational Health and Safety (healthandsafety@humber.ca). When vacancies arise, you will be contacted.

Otherwise, for more information about the JOHSC at your site, meeting dates, workplace inspection schedules, or the contact information of the committee members, visit: https://hrs.humber.ca/safety/joint-health-safety-committee/about.html

Sincerely,
JOHSC Committees

Humber staff and faculty are invited join us on Thursday, June 6 at the North Campus for our annual Showcase and celebration of teaching and learning innovations.   

This year's Showcase theme, Spaces & Places, encourages us to reflect on and consider how we utilize Humber’s spaces and places and how we conceptualize spaces for learning, creation, innovation, and connection. We interpret spaces and places as including but not limited to the physical and to also include sociocultural concepts of spaces and places.  

• How do we as educators and higher education professionals foster innovation as we repurpose spaces for critical conversations to create an environment that allows every individual to feel empowered to learn and grow within and beyond the Humber community?     
• How do we utilize spaces to ensure learners have a personalized, flexible and accessible learning journey?   
• How do we establish spaces?   
• What methodologies and practices do we use to facilitate specific types of spaces?  
• How do we interact and engage with these spaces?  
• How can learners use Humber’s places and spaces to meet their needs?   
• What do we do to create welcoming and inclusive spaces for Humber learners, faculty and staff?  
• How do we engage with one another in these spaces?   
• How are we actively including folks in these spaces?   

We invite proposals that both celebrate and investigate the many dimensions of this year’s Showcase theme, Spaces & Places.  

We encourage members of the Humber community to share how they use Humber’s spaces and places to engage learners in innovative and meaningful ways.  Share how you teach, work, learn and create in Humber’s spaces and places including those that are digital, physical, socio-emotional, cultural and intersectional.      

Submit a proposal for an Interactive Workshop, Lightning Talk, Exhibit, Poster, Demonstration, and/or Sharing Circle.    

SESSION TYPES  

 Interactive Workshop (45 minutes)  

An Interactive Workshop is a 45-minute session designed for you to share a component of your teaching practice that is tied to the theme of Spaces & Places.   

Your goal will be to lead your colleagues in the exploration of the processes you used or created and to inspire them to use your experience as a guide for their innovation. Examples of workshops could include innovative teaching and learning practices, interdisciplinary projects, and other areas of expertise related to teaching and learning.   

Lightning Talk (10 minutes each, 45 minutes)  

Present your ideas and activities on how you create innovative/flexible/inclusive spaces and places in our Lightning Talk session.  You are encouraged to deliver an insightful talk on a topic related to the theme Spaces & Places. Each selected presentation will be allotted 10 minutes, followed by an interactive 5-minute Q&A session with the audience, providing valuable engagement and feedback opportunities. The Lightning Talk session will consist of 3 separate lightning talks, and the organizers will do their best to connect them based on their shared or similar themes/topics. The Lightning Talk session will be 45 minutes, and we encourage a collaborative, shared time slot with your colleagues.  

Demonstrations (45 minutes)   

The Demonstration Galleries showcase innovative pedagogical practices, focusing on how teaching faculty utilize teaching spaces and tools for enriched learning experiences. Visitors will engage with presenters by experiencing your pedagogical activity and/or tool through your interactive methodology.  The Demonstration Gallery is a space to foster a dynamic exchange of ideas on spatial utilization in teaching and learning and how pedagogy and tools are utilized by educators. If you would like to host your session in a specialty lab or classroom, it is your responsibility to confirm availability of that space.  

Sharing Circle (60 minutes)  

A Sharing Circle is a respectful place for listening, learning, and sharing. Each member has an opportunity to share their experiences and one person speaks at a time with no interruptions. The circle is all inclusive and for that reason, everyone’s voice is listened to and respected.    

Sharing Circles will be 60 minutes in length and will have a maximum number of in-person members. Sharing Circles have a theme or issue, and one member will facilitate. Each facilitator who proposes a Sharing Circle should follow the attached guidelines and consider requesting to meet with a member of the Indigenous Education & Engagement team to learn the full protocol. Example themes could include sharing experiences of inclusion, or of successes where new approaches have removed barriers for learners, ways to ensure that diverse voices are heard and valued at Humber, and experiences that would resonate and support other faculty.   

Additional resources: Talking Circle: Fact Sheet, Talking Together  

 Exhibit Centre (90 minutes)  

The Exhibit Centre runs through the lunch hour and serves as a live and interactive community space. An Exhibit Booth gives Faculties and Departments the opportunity to highlight recent, current, or future Humber projects or initiatives. This year, Exhibitors are asked to bring a heightened focus on Humber’s spaces and places. This is a great opportunity to bring the Humber community together for conversation, sharing and networking.   

Posters (90 minutes)  

Submit a Poster and showcase your research or Priority 3 project.  Attendees can interact with the presenters, view the posters, and discuss ideas during this 90-minute interactive session.  

Deadline to submit a proposal has been extended to Monday, May 6.

I am pleased to announce that following a very competitive selection process, Amber Holliday has accepted the new role of Associate Vice-President, Recruitment and Student Mobility.

This position, reporting to the Vice-President Students and Institutional Planning, will provide leadership to all aspects of domestic and domestically-based recruitment, through participation in development and approval of related marketing strategies and co-leadership of the college’s Marketing, Recruitment and Conversion Committee. In addition, Amber will provide leadership to college Pathways and Transfer (Student Mobility) activities in cooperation with the Academic Division and Registrar’s Office. 

Amber joins us from York University where she most recently served as the Director, CRM Transformation in York’s Student Systems Renewal Program – a technological program designed to move the university towards next generation solutions improving the experience of students, faculty and staff. As Director, she spearheaded the comprehensive business and technological transformation of York’s CRM to a system designed to leverage data to improve relationships, drive enrolment growth and increase retention.  The first release of the new CRM went live in September 2023. Amber will be an asset to the Humber Enrolment team as we continue with implementation of the Enrolment and Admissions Rethinking Project.

With more than two decades of progressive leadership in recruitment and admissions, Amber is dedicated to fostering a student-centric experience at all stages of the student enrolment journey. As Assistant Director, Student Recruitment at York University, she assumed a leadership position that proved instrumental in diversifying the student body and driving enrolment growth nationally and internationally. This included the creation of integrated recruitment strategies, most notably with York’s English Language Institute, designed to support institutional and program specific priorities, optimize tactics and processes, and foster cross-campus collaboration. She also led the restructuring of the recruitment team for greater market accountability and cross-campus partnership.

Amber has an M.Ed from York University with a focus on internationalization and the international student experience, and is a certified ProSci change practitioner. She looks forward to joining the Humber community!  

Please join me in congratulating Amber and wishing her success, when she starts her new role on May 6, 2024.

Jason Hunter
Vice-President, Students & Institutional Planning