Tony Huggins, third from the left, participates in the 1978 groundbreaking of the new athletic centre along with several others.

In celebration of Black Heritage Month, the Humber Archives looked back on important milestones achieved by Black-identifying people at the College.   

Using archival new stories, photographs and other materials, the Archives casts a spotlight on important individuals from Humber’s past such as Tony Huggins.

In 1977, Humber’s Student Association Council (SAC), a student union that was the precursor to today’s IGNITE, elected Humber’s first Black student president, Tony Huggins.  

Huggins also holds the distinction of being the first international student to hold the role, coming to Humber from St. Vincent in the Caribbean.

A newspaper clipping about Tony Huggins being elected student union president.

Huggins, a Technology student, was swept into office with 81 per cent of votes cast. Huggins ran on a platform to decentralize student government at Humber and improve the relationship between the SAC and the student body as a whole.

Huggins’ time as president also coincided with a period of growth at Humber, including the building of a new Athletic Centre at North Campus that eventually would house a new Student Centre at the College.