College Council Highlights – November 2019

The Humber College Council (HCC) held its third meeting of the 2019-20 academic year on Thursday November 7, 2019 at the North Campus. 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 denise.rooney@humber.ca.

Roundtable

Risa Handler [Chair of College Council] noted that the Humber College Council provides support to Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter.  Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter is an organization run by women, providing support and shelter for women and children escaping violence. A raffle will be held during our December 5 Humber College Council meeting. If you are able to contribute an item or two, please contact Amy Azzopardi amy.azzopardi@humber.ca and she will arrange to have it picked up from your office. Items that you might consider donating to the raffle include: School, Faculty, or Humber branded swag, Gift cards, including Humber Spa or Humber Room gift cards, and gift baskets

R. Handler noted that all proceeds from the raffle will be donated to Ernestine’s, along with several boxes filled with non-perishable items, new clothing, toiletry products and new toys. Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter will not be accepting clothing items.

Capital Development & Facilities Management

Angelo Presta [Senior Director, Capital Development and Facilities Management] and Scott Valens [Director, Capital Development] updated HCC on the campus development plan. Highlights of the presentation included:

North Campus

  • LRT project led by Metrolinx is slated to be completed in late 2024. The station will be situated at the corner of Humber College Blvd and HWY 27. The first major step in construction is to grade parking lot 5 to bring the land to road level.
  • The Food Emporium will be updated over the next 3-5 years to match the space to users needs.
  • Near completion of the Retail Strategy Plan which will see new retail space in the E/H corridor and widening of the hallway.
  • Classroom redevelopment plan: this 8 year plan will see classrooms and labs updated to current standards. This includes updated corridors. Other areas: administrative offices will be updated over a 12 year plan.
  • Energy Master Plan – adding additional solar panels to N, E, F & H which will provide an additional 400kWh of power. There will be new a LED lighting system upgrade in buildings E and J.
  • New receiving dock located in DX will be completed in the spring of 2020.

Lakeshore Campus

  • The new Lakeshore Campus parking lot situated at 170 Birmingham Blvd is slated to be completed before Fall 2020. There will be a shuttle system between the parking lot and the Lakeshore campus.
  • Lakeshore Building A replacement will be in 2 phases: completion will be Aug. 2022 and Aug. 2024. There will be a new 300 bed student residence and 600 seat performance facility.
  • Seasonal sports dome will be constructed on the sports field between Humber and Father Redmond High School. The dome will be erected over the Fall/Winter months starting in October 2020.

Educational Training Solutions (ETS)

  • The renovations at ETS located at 30 Carrier Drive are completed and facilities is currently addressing deficiencies.

A discussion and feedback session was held with members on how to best receive input, feedback, and inform the Humber community on ongoing projects.

IGNITE

Monica Khosla [IGNITE President] updated HCC on current IGNITE initiatives and plans.

Ignite’s promise to students is “You are entitled to the best experience possible. We listen and help you ‘Shape your World’”. They do this by advocating for students and enhancing the student experience by offering unique events and services. This includes:

  • Hosting events for students such as LinkedIn Locals, networking events, Frosh paint party, e-sports tournaments.
  • Dispute Resolution Centre to help with academic success and navigating through problems.
  • Soup bar has been expanded to Tuesday through Thursday at North and soon will be at Lakeshore.
  • Emergency menstrual products available.
  • Financial support available for students with education at risk on an emergency basis.
  • Contest with 9 chances to win $1000 each month from September through April.
  • Collaborate with many departments for events and promotion.
  • Working to bring a Presto machine on campus.
  • Working to remove physical and attitudinal barriers on campus.

Members discussed and provided feedback on how IGNITE could develop partnerships with other departments.

Humber’s Revised Accessibility

Adam Benn [Manager, Human Rights, Equity and Diversity] updated council on Humber College’s Revised Accessibility Policy. The Revised Accessibility Policy is a consolidation of Humber’s existing Accessibility Policy and the Accessible Customer Service Policy. Humber College is subject to the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). As well during the revision stage there were extensive consultations with stakeholders including, Human Resources and the Library.

The Accessibility Policy now has a new section “Background” which outlines the five accessibility standards: information and communication standards, employment standards, transportation standards, design of public spaces standards and customer service standards.

A. Benn noted all the changes were important but highlighted the following:

  • Feedback came from consultations re: workplace emergencies and having a plan in place.
  • Changes made to the Service Animal section 6.4 providing greater clarity around service animals.
  • The ‘Support Persons” section 6.5.4 has been revised.

The Accessibility Policy connects to a number of 2018-2023 strategic priorities namely: Strategic Priority 4 and 7. The revised policy with be launched early 2020. 

Members reviewed various sections of the policy and provided feedback on the various revisions in the updated policy.

The next meeting of the College Council will be held on Thursday December 5, 2019 at the North Campus. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, and opportunities to provide feedback please visit the College Council website.