Few people can say that they have dedicated their careers to helping students to strive for excellence. John Elias is one of those individuals, and after over 20 years focusing on supporting student success in a variety of academic roles, he will be retiring from Humber College effective August 31, 2014.
John began his career at Humber in January 1992 teaching in the Department of General Education where his interdisciplinary background and exceptional teaching abilities allowed him to teach in a variety of areas. It was not long before he joined Humber in a full-time capacity, and in his case, the rest was truly history. He quickly took on leadership opportunities serving on Showcase, Academic Council and several other cross-institutional committees reflective of his interest in supporting excellence both in our students and ourselves. One of these resulted in the establishment of the President’s Lecture Series which to this day brings notable figures to Humber to share their expertise, experience and insights. In 1999, the year in which he received a NISOD Excellence Award, he also moved into the role of Program Coordinator in the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and over the next decade, he moved into the role of Associate Dean (February 2008) leading the Department of General Education that he had called home for over fifteen years.
As Associate Dean, John played a key role in helping to evolve the elective components of Humber’s degree programming, introducing experiential and service learning and study abroad opportunities for students in their electives. Most importantly, he supported student success through a consistent focus on collaboration.
It was his focus on student outcomes and his breadth of experience at Humber that allowed John to assume the role of Associate Dean, Enterprise Systems Project in the fall of 2010. As a member of the project team, John has provided advice and counsel to shape the development of academic & business practices that are reflected in the new Banner student information system. While John’s influence can be seen throughout the project, he played a particular leadership role in the development of the new Banner Standard Workload Form (SWF) module. This module was initially developed for Humber College and will eventually be used at other colleges in Ontario that use the Banner platform.
John’s contribution to the Humber community included co-chairing the 2011 Humber United Way campaign. John contributed in ways during the campaign including leading a spin-a-thon team from the Enterprise Systems Project.
On behalf of the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Enterprise Systems Project, we wish to thank John for his many contributions to the Humber community and wish him all the best in his retirement.
Paula Gouveia Scott Briggs
Dean, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences Chief Information Officer