Humber welcomed Premier Ford to North Campus on Tuesday for a press conference alongside Ross Romano, Minister of Colleges and Universities, as well as Minister Kinga Surma, MPPs Christine Hogarth and Natalia Kusendova, and Humber President and CEO Chris Whitaker.

They were on site to tour the newly remodeled clinical learning laboratory and announce Humber’s independent nursing degree, which launches this Fall – one of the first in the college sector.

“I applaud the President and CEO of Humber, Chris Whitaker, for his leadership as Humber blazes a trail for the benefit of everyone in Ontario...I couldn’t be more pleased and prouder of what this program means for our hospitals, long-term care homes, public health units and everyone in Ontario. This will change the face of healthcare in our province for years to come,” said Premier Ford. 

President Whitaker opened the press conference with the following remarks:

In February 2020, Humber had the privilege of hosting the Premier, Minister Romano and our local MPPs for an announcement about the province’s new nursing education policy.

That visit to our simulated patient care suites was one of the last events we had on campus. Just a few weeks later, we had to close the college due to the global pandemic.

Over the summer and into the fall, we worked to safely reopen for the critical in-person education required for so many on the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19, including those in health and long-term care.

Today’s announcement highlights the progress made with the new nursing education policy. The need for high quality nursing education has never been more apparent.

Humber is a leader in degree education in the Ontario college sector. In fact, one quarter of all students enrolled in a degree program at an Ontario college study at Humber.

As we will hear in a few moments, we are looking forward to adding to our degree program offerings, and to continuing to prepare students for their future through our signature polytechnic mix of career-focused theory and hands-on learning.

Before I turn it over to the Premier, I want to thank all the Humber faculty and staff who continue to support our students across our physical and digital campuses during these challenging times.

Find the full story on Humber Today and the media release here.