Announcements

When:
March 2, 2020
Contact:
Dawn Bassant
Tel:
x5750

Thumbs up graphic with smiling employees within it. Employee Well-Being and Engagement title. Last week, President Whitaker launched our Employee Well-Being and Engagement framework. I’d like to provide you with more information and to ask employees to provide input into the framework development.

Workplace well-being and engagement frameworks, and programs/strategies that result, are most effective and meaningful when they are developed with contributions from the people they are designed to serve. As Humber moves forward, it is important that employees have a voice in determining our future priorities and programming. 

As a starting point, we have developed a suggested set of Dimensions and Drivers for discussion, to help guide the conversation and to lay the foundation for our Well-Being and Engagement framework.

Dimensions are areas of focus that allow us to categorize organizational responses (projects, programs, solutions, approaches, processes, etc.) into definable containers.

Drivers are a condition, strategy or capability that shapes mindsets, culture, behaviour and goals.

You can review the Dimensions and Drivers, for discussion, here.

We want you to help determine which Dimensions and Drivers will inform our Employee Well-Being and Engagement framework and plan. Here’s how:

  1. We will share details on the suggested well-being Dimensions and Drivers, through Communiqué in the coming weeks, in person at the scheduled information sessions and on the Employee Well-being and Engagement webpage.
  2. You will have an opportunity to attend an information session and to vote on which Dimensions and Drivers are meaningful to you.
  3. We will refine the list of Dimensions and Drivers based on your input.
  4. You will then be invited to participate in a discussion on the refined list of Dimensions and Drivers, sharing your expectations, stories, experience and advice.
  5. You will have the chance to share your feedback anonymously by participating in an Employee Well-Being and Engagement survey. This survey will form our baseline.
  6. We will develop an Employee Well-Being and Engagement plan using your feedback.

Your participation, honesty and advice will lead to rich data, which we believe will lead to great results. Please participate by:

  • Familiarizing yourself with the Dimensions and Drivers that we have identified for discussion, and consider which are important to you and why.
  • Registering for an information session here.
  • Voting at one of the information sessions. In-person attendance at a session is the only way to vote. Multiple opportunities will be provided for voting, however, where employees just cannot attend, we will facilitate another mechanism, which will be shared in a subsequent communication.

We will keep you updated on our progress and continue to provide you with information about how to get involved. 

We look forward to hearing your stories and about the moments that have mattered most as your career has advanced at Humber. Thank you for contributing to employee well-being and engagement across the college.
 

Lori Diduch
Vice-President, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness 

When:
March 2, 2020
Contact:
Sorsha Heard
Tel:
x74055
Posters/Attachments: Event Poster

Stop by D224J at the North Campus between 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the Faculty Marking Coffee House today. Or stop by H206 at the Lakeshore Campus between 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the Faculty Marking Coffee House tomorrow.

Have you ever taken a stack of papers to a coffee shop only to notice that everyone around you is grading as well?  Have you ever puzzled over a grading decision and wished you had a colleague to briefly chat with? Well, you are not alone!  Humber Teaching & Learning Support values all of our wonderful instructors, and wants to celebrate your hard work by opening up a warm and welcoming space for co-working. Join us at the first open session of your own Faculty Marking Coffee House!

  • Warm drinks and light refreshments
  • Quiet and comfortable space to tackle some grading
  • Collegial space to chat with others during breaks
  • A Teaching & Learning Support colleague who can answer questions
  • Refreshers available on Blackboard gradebook and entering grades in MyHumber

This is an open house event, so drop by anytime between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. We would love to see you!

When:
March 2, 2020
Contact:
Lori Short-Zamudio

Looking for guidance on stress management, sleep habits or any other area of wellness? Look no further than Humber's Wellness Coaching Program students. Our students are trained in building relationships with clients to better help them navigate their goals around a variety of health and wellness issues.

The students are currently seeing clients in the Centre for Healthy Living on Mondays and some Fridays. Call x5055 to book or go to The Centre for Healthy Living (A107) at North Campus to book in person and check out our other offerings.

When:
March 2, 2020

Humber College has a new Professional Development Policy which was approved in November 2019 and will take effect beginning April 1, 2020. This policy outlines Humber’s commitment to investing in employees’ professional development in order to build capability and to support the effective delivery of an exceptional student experience. At the heart of this policy is the overarching principle of providing diverse and multi-layered programs and instruments that allow employees to meet their professional development needs and contribute to strong employee engagement. 

Some of the key changes to the policy include:

  • The Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) now provides a $500 monetary allowance for PT (admin, academic, partial-load and regular part-time support staff) employees, and
  • The new Post-secondary, Degree and Graduate Assistance Program (GAP), provides a scholarship allowance for full-time (admin, support, academic) employees up to 50 per cent of their annual tuition fees, up to $5,000 per year for a maximum of four years.

Applications for the GAP are now open and will close on April 30, 2020. Interested applications can find application details in the links below:

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

When:
March 2, 2020
Contact:
Kaitlyn Pitek
Posters/Attachments: Event Poster

Dog Tales is a world-renowned dog rescue and horse sanctuary set on an incredible 50 acres of green fields, rolling hills, and wooded areas in King City, Ontario. Our picturesque location - complete with kilometers of walking trails, therapy pools, and a grooming spa - is the perfect setting for abused and neglected animals to heal and be rehabilitated while they wait for forever homes. Along with medical care, our team provides all of the love, attention and training that our rescues need to recover from their difficult pasts, so that they can move on to permanent, loving homes, which most do. For the rest, Dog Tales is home for as long as they need it to be.

Dog Tales is in need of blanket donations!

Blankets keep shelter pets off the ground, insulate them from drafty, cold floors, cushion their joints, and gives each animal its own space.

More than that, blankets provide a sense of security for shelter animals so they can relax. This home-like setting makes it easier for prospective owners to imagine their new pet as a member of the family.

Drop by the Humber Lakeshore Fitness Centre located at 3246 Lakeshore Blvd West to donate your extra blankets to a great cause. We will be accepting blankets up until Friday, March 27!

When:
March 2, 2020
Contact:
Nathan Whitlock
blue and yellow logo

Listen to two new episodes of the NEXTcast podcast. We talk to Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning professors Jessica Freitag and Jennifer Winfield about their research into the effectiveness of collarative writing, and to Faculty of Social & Community Services professor Rai Reece about learning from teaching mistakes - such as not preparing students for difficult conversations.

Both great, informative conversations.

Listen to them for free here: soundcloud.com/humbernextcast

Download the free transcripts here: humberpress.com

 

Humber Press

 

 

When:
February 28, 2020

The Humber College IELTS Test Centre, run through the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Innovative Learning, has just opened a fourth testing venue. The new testing venue is at the Virtute Innovation & Art School (VIA) in Richmond Hill. VIA is a headphone testing venue which meets the demand of test takers across the city.

For more information about IELTS testing at Humber, please visit humber.ca/ielts.

When:
February 28, 2020
Contact:
Emily Milic
Tel:
ext. 5778

Humber College continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation and the potential impact on our community. Toronto Public Health issued a letter on February 24 with updated information and to report a new case of the virus in the city. Read the letter here.

Recommendations to support global containment efforts and limit the spread of the virus, including self-isolation are still in place, particularly for those who may have been travelling recently. The Government of Canada Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak Update page provides regularly updated travel advisories and advice. Any students with reason to believe they should be self-isolated will be accommodated, as long as the appropriate notice and documentation is provided. Any student in this situation is asked to contact their Associate Dean.

Faculty members who believe they should be self-isolated should contact their Associate Dean to discuss appropriate next steps.

All other employees with reason to believe they should be self-isolated should contact their manager to discuss appropriate next steps. 

All classes, campus operations and college activities will continue as scheduled.

Humber is following all respiratory illness protocols and prevention measures already in place. In addition, areas of the College that provide health-related services, including the Health Centres, Dental Centres, the Humber Spa and the Tzu Chi Clinic of Chinese Medicine, have the recommended screening protocols in place.

Health authorities are providing regular updates to the number of confirmed and presumptive cases. Humber continues to monitor these updates. For the most up-to-date information in Ontario, community members are encouraged to visit the Ontario Ministry of Health website, as well as the Toronto Public Health website

While the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international public health emergency, the current risk to Canadians remains low. We maintain ongoing contact with Toronto Public Health and have been advised that there are no additional actions required, and to follow regular respiratory illness protocols and prevention strategies.

If you have any questions, please email Toronto Public Health at tphliaison@toronto.ca or call 416-338-7600 between 8:30 am and 8:00 pm.

As we are in the winter flu season, we ask everyone to:

  • wash your hands as frequently as possible,
  • cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then immediately throw the tissue in the garbage and clean your hands,
  • if you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your sleeve or arm,
  • and stay home if you’re feeling ill.

Soap and hand sanitizer dispensers across campus will be monitored and filled regularly. Flu shots are still available in the Health Centres.

Humber takes the health and wellbeing of our staff and students seriously. Updates and more information will be provided as we continue to monitor the situation closely. If you have any questions, please contact:

As news of the virus continues to dominate headlines, it is understandable that anxiety is heightened in the community, and this can often result in discrimination and racism. As an institution, we are proud of our diversity and the richness it brings to the classrooms, hallways and boardrooms. We see it as one of our greatest strengths. While coronavirus can be traced to a province in China, it is important not to characterize the coronavirus as being transmitted from any one group. As always, we work to ensure that Humber is a safe place for staff, students and visitors. We must now come together as a community to avoid any hint of xenophobia. Thank you for continuing to uphold our foundational values of equity, diversity and inclusion.

An oversight group comprising representatives from the Academic Division, Communications, Human Resources, Legal and Risk Management, Public Safety, Student Success and Engagement, and the University of Guelph-Humber has been established and will provide weekly updates to the community, or as needed.

Other links:
Ontario Ministry of Health Statement
Public Health Agency of Canada
Toronto Public Health 
Toronto Public Health Novel Coronavirus Fact Sheet
Government of Canada - Travel Health Notices

When:
February 28, 2020

Today the flags are at half-mast to recognize the recent passing of Judy Hebner from the Faculty of Business. Judy was a dedicated member of the Humber community for more than 20 years. Her most recent achievement was receiving the President’s Awards for Internationalization in 2019 for her hard work and commitment to study-abroad programs.

When:
February 27, 2020
Contact:
Tayler Buchanan
Tel:
x5998
Donate your unneeded office supplies, clothing and miscellaneous items!

Do you have unwanted office supplies, clothing or extra "swag" items piling up? Don't throw them away - donate them for an upcoming swap event! 

Contribute to the sharing economy and donate your: 

  • Seasonal apparel - please clean! 
  • Office supplies - binders, notebooks, folders, pens, etc.
  • Swag - lanyards, buttons, pens, etc. 

North/UofGH donations

  • The Office of Sustainability (E103)
  • Capital Development & Facilities Management (D134)

Lakeshore donations

  • The Office of the Principal (WEL302)
  • Learning Commons (L1000)

All items will be given a new life at an upcoming swap sale during Humber Earth Week (March 23-27, 2020). Proceeds from the sale will be donated to a local charity. 

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