Award Recipients

With over 17 years of experience in the college sector, Derek began at Humber in 2009 as an Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social and Community Services and became the Dean in 2015. He transitioned to the role of Senior Dean and Principal of the Lakeshore Campus in 2018 and assumed the role of the Associate Vice-President, Academic on July 5, 2021.

Derek has enriched the Lakeshore campus and the Faculty of Social and Community Services with a wealth of experience as a professor, academic administrator, faculty member, lecturer, presenter, researcher, and extensive work in the field of Social and Community Services. Throughout his career, Derek has demonstrated a commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. He is currently the co-chair of the Access and Equity for Staff working group of the EDI Taskforce. He has led numerous college-wide initiatives including the Six-in-Six series, and a college-wide wellness initiative developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Derek has always fostered a supportive and collegial team environment, with a strong focus on employee wellbeing.

Over the past 5 years, the FSCS Emergency Bursary Program has dispersed nearly $100,000 to students in need. In establishing the new Centre of Innovation in Social Innovation, Derek has also enabled grant contributions totaling over $7,000,000 since 2019 alone, obtained through FSCS faculty and staff, and in partnership with other Faculties. Through numerous strategic committees, College working groups, and boards, Derek continues to support the faculty, the Lakeshore campus, and the college, all while completing his PhD. in Higher Education, with a focus on leadership development. Derek’s talent extends beyond the post-secondary realm; he has been writing and performing comedy for the past ten years.

Jacqueline “Jacquii” Anderson has had an incredible impact on student success at Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber in her role as Associate Director, Student Health and Counselling. During her time at Humber, Jacquii has demonstrated a willingness to collaborate, a commitment to the student experience, and dedicated leadership to her team and the college on all matters concerning student health and wellbeing. This past year saw Jacquii not only continue to have an impact in these areas but take on additional and important work in supporting the college’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Jacquii quickly established herself as a lead resource for the Emergency Operations Committee providing knowledge, guidance, and support. During the early days of the pandemic, Jacquii led her team through the rapid integration of a virtual service delivery model (something that previously had not been tested or attempted at the college) for health and counseling services. She did so expediently and with the goal of providing fully virtual services to students within two weeks of the campus closure. Jacquii not only met that target but shortly thereafter began to initiate planning to reopen the health clinics to ensure that students would continue to receive the care that they needed to be healthy and successful. Jacquii was also instrumental in the creation of the Covid Response Team to support both students and staff as they navigate systems, supports, information, and requirements associated with the pandemic. As a key member of the administrative on-call team supporting the college’s Covid response, Jacquii has selflessly dedicated long hours on evenings and weekends to ensure the student and employee’s inquiries and consultations are conducted in a timely and caring manner. Through her collaborative leadership with key members of the Student Wellness and HR team, Humber’s response to the pandemic and supporting individuals who may have contracted the virus has been lauded by Toronto Public Health and has been vital in ensuring community safety and academic continuity for the college.

Jacquii is an incredible asset to our team at Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber. She is consistent in her willingness to go beyond the conventional description of her role and offers to lead in areas that support our community’s wellbeing. While her efforts in response to the Covid-19 pandemic offer incredible examples of this commitment, they are merely indicative of the dedication she brings to her work and leadership each day.

There are two main programs Nivedita has led that have been the most impactful achievements that she has implemented over the past few years at Humber:

The Youth Transition Program:

A free transition program for youth between the ages of 19 and 29. This specialized program has been designed to help participants make a successful transition to college, whether they have completed high school or not. This is achieved through a strong focus on developing individualized learning plans, mentoring, advising, career exploration, and skill-building.

Participants take part in a variety of learning opportunities in the program such as Media, Business, or Design. The program supports participants to explore their interests, realize their potential and readiness, and gain exposure to how post-secondary education can help in reaching career goals. Upon completion, participants are able to transition successfully into a post-secondary program or further preparatory skill development to be able to access their desired program. In addition, the program connects participants to a peer mentor. This is crucial since mentors are able to share their experiences, advice, and networks, to provide realistic lived experience and guidance to support the goal achievement of participants.

Digital Fluency for the Workforce Micro-Credential:

In collaboration with the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science and Flexible Learning, Nivedita successfully submitted a proposal for funding for the Digital Fluency for the Workforce (DFW). This is a free online micro-credential program designed for individuals who want to develop core digital competencies necessary to thrive in the workplace. The program also provides job search assistance through Humber College Community Employment Services or one of our Employment Ontario (EO) community partners.

Upon successful completion of this program, participants will have developed core digital fluency skills that will allow them to use digital tools effectively, communicate professionally in digital spaces, manage digital information ethically and safely, and solve problems collaboratively using a critical lens. These are the core competencies required by employers across industries in Canada. The participants in this program are unemployed and have had their opportunities for further employment affected by the increasing need for digital skills. The curriculum has been designed with business and industry input so that the micro-credential achieved through this program is recognized as a foundational skills set required to manage day-to-day with regular software and learn any new industry-specific software.

Experiential Learning for Humber Students:

In addition to these big program initiatives noted above, Nivedita has created a number of opportunities for Faculties to have their students gain experience in their field of study by pairing them with community initiatives she is aware of that both further address community needs and provide a meaningful experience for the student.

Renewed Computer Technology:

When the pandemic began in March 2020, Nivedita reached out to a non-profit organization that refurbishes computers and sells them at a nominal fee to meet the needs of our program and College learners. She teamed up with the IT department and Ignite to establish a plan to get these computers into the hands of those who desperately needed them to support their learning. Ignite was able to support the purchase of some of the computers and the shipping costs.

Community Advisory Committee:

Over the past few years, Nivedita has convened the Community Advisory Committee comprised of community-based organizations and school boards in the Toronto West community. During these meetings, local community stakeholders are able to discuss what the needs are that they see in the community related to access to post-secondary education, training, and employment and discuss possible strategies to address these. Guest speakers from various Faculties and departments also come and share relevant information regarding services, resources, and programs that are available to support access and retention for students. Participants have found the information to be valuable and they are then able to spread awareness about these offerings to those in the community that they serve.