Humber College Council held its second meeting of the winter semester on Thursday, February 11, at the North Campus. In the interest of keeping the Humber community informed about upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, I will be continuing to report the highlights of the monthly meetings.  For more information on any topic, or to give me feedback on the reports, please feel free to contact me directly at lisa.salem-wiseman@humber.ca.

Upcoming Events

The Library, First Year Experience, and HSF will be holding “Recess” from Monday, February 29 to Thursday, March 3, between 12 and 2 pm at the North Campus (3rd floor LRC) and Lakeshore Campus (Library and A168). Activities include: Animal Day, featuring a variety of exotic animals; Wellness Day, featuring massages and an oxygen bar; Games Day, featuring board games and popcorn; and Arts Day, featuring live jazz and a variety of art activities.

Student Awards and Scholarships

Alister Mathieson, Vice President, Advancement and External Affairs, and Adelia Marchese, Manager, Alumni Relations, gave a presentation about the process of providing funding to students. In 2015-2016, over $1,000,000 in awards and scholarships were awarded, with over 1,000 students receiving awards. The average amount for an award was $750, and the average amount for a scholarship was $1500.

• Awards are merit-based, with recipients selected in May and June by faculty recommendation to the Dean of each academic school.
• Scholarships are application-based, and include entrance scholarships, as well as scholarships for returning students. Students can apply online in August and September through MyHumber.

Funding for awards comes from external and internal donors, the Humber Gives campaign, and the Humber College Golf Classic. Donations can be made to named awards or to pools of school funds. Named awards have a minimum value of $500 and a three-year commitment.

To view the awards and scholarships that are available for students, please visit humber.ca/studentawards

Leave For Change Volunteer Opportunities

Nancey Adamson, Manager, Employee Engagement, told Council about the opportunity for Humber faculty and staff to volunteer in one of fourteen developing countries through Leave for Change.  Leave for Change is part of Uniterra, an international volunteer program. It allows full-time faculty and staff to convert their vacation time into international volunteer postings, applying their professional and personal skills to build capacity in a developing country. All expenses are covered by Humber, and volunteers are given support before, during, and after the posting.

Over the eight years of Humber’s partnership with Leave for Change, 45 employees have spent part of their vacations sharing their leadership and vocational skills with professionals in developing countries. Two recent volunteers joined Council to tell us about their experiences:

• Jana Petrone, an educational advisor for the Career and Academic Success Centre, spent three weeks in Phan Thiet, Vietnam, as an alumni relations advisor at Bin Thuan Community College. She created a survey to understand the needs of alumni, offered strategic solutions to increase alumni relations, and delivered a workshop to help the staff move forward with her recommendations.
• Ionela Bacain, a program coordinator in the Business School, spent four weeks in northern Vietnam, building capacity for accounting faculty at Hai Phong Community College. She reviewed the college’s accounting curriculum, shared Humber’s best practices for using accounting software, and held a workshop to train faculty in order to improve their teaching practices.

Both emphasized the potential for personal and professional growth that the experience offers.

If you would like more information about volunteering, please contact Nancey Adamson at nancey.adamson@humber.ca

Capital Development

• Angelo Presta, Humber’s new Senior Director, Capital Development and Facilities Management, provided an overview of the strategic investments being made to Humber’s infrastructure, stating that student success is the key priority.
• Current capital projects at the North Campus include the backfill project, which involves renovating approximately 146,000 square feet of space freed up by the building of the LRC. New teaching spaces will include a pharmacy lab, fitness and biomechanics lab, chemistry lab, and baking and culinary labs.
• Current capital projects at Lakeshore Campus include the Welcome Centre, the Athletics Centre, the Centre for Entrepreneurship, and additional parking with shuttle service.
• Future development plans include the LRT Station at the North Campus and the Building A/B Expansion at the Lakeshore Campus. All new initiatives will have energy generation, conservation and sustainability as prime considerations. 

In keeping with Council’s mandate to report back to the President on key items, members of Council met in small working groups to discuss the evening’s presentations and to make notes that will be brought to the President.

The next meeting of Humber College Council will be held on March 10, at the North Campus.