It is with mixed emotions that we prepare to say farewell to Christina Alcena (she/her), currently the Interim Associate Director, Advising & Career Services for Student Success & Engagement. Christina is moving to Sheridan to join the senior leadership team of the Vice Provost, Student Experience & Enrolment Management as Director, Division of Students.
In her time here at Humber, Christina distinguished herself as an innovator and an agile strategic leader. She made significant contributions at the department level including the significant expansion of partnerships aiming to advance employment outcomes for, and the engagement in career conversations of, students from equity-deserving groups, mature and International students, grads and alumni. Under her leadership we saw significant growth in student and partner engagement in Career Month programming and a substantial increase in uptake of our services and usage of digital tools. Christina was also instrumental in securing new sources of funding in support of strengthening student employment outcomes.
Christina’s impact at Humber was felt beyond our own department with her expertise being leveraged in service of Humber strategic initiatives. During her tenure, Christina has played a critical role as a member of Humber’s EDI Task Force, has served as a member of the Humber Gallery Committee as well as the Black/African Employee Resource Group (ERG), and made great strides in advancing the Humber-Seneca Polytechnic Partnership. A core member of the Strategic Enrolment Management Student Success Committee she led key early intervention initiatives. And in partnership with the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology, and Sault College, she led the development of tailored supports for students studying in our three new Engineering Degrees.
Christina was highly sought out as an expert, with respect to best practices in equity and inclusion and counts among her accomplishment significant movement on a number of equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives that aimed to transform climate for students and staff at Humber. We are indebted to her for the growth in programming that centres the voices of equity-deserving students and staff, the advancement of practices in hiring and training that hopefully will move us closer to having our staff be more reflective of our student body, and for a legacy of more robust partnerships that better positions us to meet students’ evolving needs, with specific attention to inter-sectional identities and in response to the ever changing learning and employment context.
We thank Christina for her service to Humber, for her commitment to our students’ and staff’s success, and for leaving us the better for having known her. Christina’s last day at Humber is Friday, October 14. Plans for a farewell are in process so stay tune for those details. I invite you to join me in congratulating Christina on her new role.
Chantal Joy
Associate Dean, Transition & Academic Support
Student Success and Engagement
Pronouns | She/Her/Hers (Info on Pronouns)