Prior to the resignation of more than half of Humber Polytechnic’s board of governors, the Ontario government had launched a third-party review of the college’s governance practices and directed members to continue normal operations but refrain from proceeding with a performance review of the president, holding in-camera meetings, retaining any legal counsel or exchanging emails with staff.
The terms of reference were laid out in a Jan. 14 letter, seen by the Star, from David Wai, deputy minister of colleges and universities. That letter followed one from early December in which Wai alerted the board that concerns about governance practices had been flagged to the ministry and a review was to be initiated. The ministry wouldn’t provide details to the Star but confirmed a review is underway and concerns were initially raised “by external parties.”
- Janet Hurley
Last Friday, eight of 16 board members tendered their resignations, including the entire executive committee. A source told the Star that board members had allegedly been dealing with resistance from Humber president Anne Marie Vaughan over governance practices, but that the first letter came as a surprise to them. The second one left them feeling they could no longer do their jobs.
A ninth board member, Humber student Ana Downes, quit Tuesday.
The president remains on the board, along with three external and three internal members.
“We always appreciate the ministry’s input and efforts to explore best practices,” said Humber spokesperson Andrew Leopold. “We are confident that Humber continually meets the highest governance standards. We welcome and support the fact-finding review. We look forward to participating and contributing our own perspectives.”
Leopold added that board business is bound by confidentiality requirements.
Questions remain about what is going on behind closed doors and what it might mean for Humber’s reputation at a time when Ontario colleges are in crisis over the declining enrolment of international students.
“This has upset a lot of people,” said Robert Gordon, Humber’s longest serving president (1982-2007), who continues to be in contact with staff and alumni as president emeritus. “The climate of trust and co-operation has deteriorated because people don’t know where they stand … The morale is poor.”
A mass resignation is “very unusual,” said Glen Jones, a professor of higher education at the University of pc28and an expert on governance. “The fact that something like this has happened at a college that is so well respected is shocking.”
He said he doesn’t have inside knowledge, but “it clearly suggests some sort of tremendous tension between the board and the president, and that’s not good for the college and it’s not good for the people of Ontario who rely on Humber as a very important educational institution.”
The ministry told the Star that “this fact-finding exercise is designed to assist all parties with implementing best practices in governance.
“We expect that post-secondary leaders put the best interests of students at the forefront of their work … (and) as the review gets underway, the board will continue to carry out their functions in accordance with their duties and their fiduciary responsibilities,” said spokesperson Dayna Smockum.
and are responsible for the hiring evaluating and if necessary dismissal of college presidents.
The province has authority to intervene however, said Jones. The “provides the government with considerable discretion in terms of oversight.”
He noted that government directives about how operations should be conducted during a review period are “not unreasonable because it’s trying to retain the current arrangements and prevent an escalation” of whatever is the heart of the dysfunction. The deputy minister’s letter indicated the “fact-finding exercise” would be completed by March 15.
While the letters suggest some sort of trouble had been brewing at the top since at least December, it was only late Friday evening, several hours after the Star first made inquiries, that Humber staff were apprised. The email announced eight members of the board had quit earlier that day. The communication thanked the governors for their dedication, and assured the Humber community that “leadership remains strong,” and that the college would be moving forward to fill the board positions. There were no further details of what happened.
In the absence of an explanation, worry spread among staff over the weekend.
Derrick Hempel, a professor of English, said he felt uneasy. “Until it’s laid out what the problem is, I’m going to be concerned.”
By Monday, the names of the departed members had been removed from . The current members listed are president Vaughan, external members Jacqueline Edwards, Rudy Dahdal and Richard Rabba, and Humber community members Kristy Adams, Akanni Frederick and Lisa Salem-Wiseman. Downes is still mentioned.
On Tuesday, assuring that “Humber’s operations and administrative functions remain steady and uninterrupted, and that the college remains “committed to upholding principles of good governance while ensuring there are no disruptions to students or employees.”
Vaughan also said she was proceeding with a series of townhalls to be held at the North and Lakeshore campuses.
Milos Vasic, a Humber professor and president of the faculty union, said he was surprised but not shocked by the apparent fissure at the administrative level. Vasic says he has seen a decrease in the levels of collegiality since he began teaching at Humber in 2002 and before . He describes a leadership culture of “control.”
“At Humber, and really any large college in Ontario now, there’s a crisis of belonging. People are burnt out; it has to do with the way these colleges are managed. It’s a one-way nature; these places are so hierarchical.”
Humber’s Leopold responded saying the polytechnic “has always been and remains fully committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive and collaborative environment.”
Humber has been one of Canada’s largest colleges with . It rebranded itself a polytechnic last summer, following in the footsteps of other former colleges like , aiming to promote offerings that combine theoretical learning with hands-on experience.
Ontario colleges have been struggling in the face of the federal government’s cap on international students. Changes to the study permit policy, introduced last year to curb rapid enrolment growth, have forced some colleges to shutter courses and cut staff. Humber told the Star in December that it had not yet had to cancel or cut back on programming, although first-year enrolment was down 22 per cent last fall compared to September 2023 and applications were down 26 per cent.
As for Humber’s most immediate crisis at board level, students don’t need to be alarmed, says former president Gordon. “In the short term, it won’t affect the students one little bit. But there will come a time when people will be so afraid of their jobs, they won’t do anything innovative or take any risk, which makes a greater institution … in the long run it defeats an institution.”
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