Ana Downes, the IGNITE representative quit her position as a board member on Humber Polytechnic’s Board of Governors. She is the ninth member to leave the 17-member board.
Downes’ resignation came shortly after Monday’s Academic and Student Affairs meeting.
A source who spoke to Et Cetera on conditions of confidentiality said the board was concerned about the college meddling in its governance and that the issue needed to be investigated.
According to a report by The Toronto Star, before more than half of Humber Polytechnic's Board of Governors resigned, the Ontario government initiated a third-party review of the college's governance and instructed members to maintain regular operations while pausing the president's performance review.
IGNITE in a statement supported Downes’ decision.
“The confidential nature of these meetings legally prohibits board members from sharing any details that led to the resignations; however, we know and trust in Ana’s decision-making skills and fully support her choice,” the statement said.
Ercole Perrone, CEO of IGNITE, said students remain the student union’s top priority.
“We are actively monitoring the situation, specifically its impact on our students. We immediately scheduled a meeting with President Ann Marie Vaughan for later this week to highlight these concerns and advocate for quick and appropriate resolution,” Perrone said.
The wave of resignations was officially announced last Friday at 9:32 p.m. through Humber Communiqué, the college’s employee newsletter. The announcement followed an executive and governance meeting on Jan. 16, according to the board’s meeting schedule.
Vaughan addressed the matter on Monday through her blog, AMViews, reassuring staff that Humber’s operations remain unaffected.
“Our current Board members, alongside Humber’s leadership team, are fully equipped to continue guiding the institution and advancing our strategic vision and mission. We remain committed to upholding principles of good governance,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan said there are two upcoming town halls for employees to discuss the budget and updates, including the latest enrolment data.
The town halls were announced last year because the sector is going through “unprecedented challenges.’’ It is unclear if the resignations will be addressed during the town halls.
The Lakeshore campus Town Hall for employees is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2025, at 10 a.m.
The college is now working to fill the vacant positions on the board.
“We look forward to welcoming new Board members who will support Humber’s bold, ambitious vision, and will share another update once the recruitment process has been completed,” Vaughan said. “As we look to the future, we are reminded of the importance of adapting and leading in a rapidly changing world. With Building Brilliance, Humber has embraced a bold vision that challenges us to think big, to innovate, and to envision a brighter future, for everyone.’’
Among those who resigned include Chair Akela Peoples, serving on the board for over six years and Vice Chair Anne Trafford.
The other six who resigned are Pauline Larsen, John Breakey, Ali Ghassi, Earl Davis, Lekan Olawoye and Joseph Carnevale.
The remaining board members include Jacqueline Edwards, Rudy Dahdal, and Richard Rabba, who joined in fall 2023, along with Kristy Adams, Akanni Fredrick, Lisa Salem-Wiseman, and Vaughan.
The Board of Governors plays a critical role in managing budgets and risks, and supervising senior administration, including overseeing the hiring, reviewing performance and termination of a college president.
The college's media relations responded to Et Cetera questions saying the college is "in a brief transitional period" but is focused on maintaining the high-quality educational experience that our students deserve and expect. Humber is also in the process of appointing new board members.
‘’The buzzword is governance, but I think at the end of the day, this is really about transparency, like around transparency between senior admin and the board of governors and transparency from senior admin to the rest of the Humber community,’’ said Milos Vasic, the president of Humber’s faculty union OPSEU Local 562.
“And if it isn't a crisis of transparency, I mean, the only way to meet that challenge is with more transparency,” he said
He criticized the administration’s response as dismissive.
“Unfortunately, I don't think that senior admin at Humber has been living up to that because everything we've had up until now, since the weekend, is don't worry, everything's fine,” Vasic said.
But he said that message doesn't resonate with him.
No information was provided to the student body about the situation.
In an exclusive statement to Humber Et Cetera, Akela Peoples, the former chair of the Board of Governors, said:
While I have declined all requests to speak to media, I am responding to your request because your audience is a particularly important one, Humber students.
I encourage students to focus on their coursework as this current situation should not impact them. Your diploma, degree or certificate from Humber will serve you well, and I have every confidence in the outstanding faculty and staff that are working very hard to prepare you effectively for your future.
It was a great honour serving six and a half years on Humber's Board of Governors including two years as Vice Chair and Chair of the Board's Executive Governance Committee, as well as one year as Chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee.
Students may not know that at a College the president reports to a Board of Governors. That Board is comprised of individuals, externally appointed and internally elected, who together have the responsibility of oversight of the College.
Oversight of a public institution is a significant responsibility and Board members take it very seriously. They devote hundreds of hours to the institution over many years serving extensively on committees that address finance, risk, strategy and performance of the President to fulfill their important role as a public service.
The eight Board members that resigned included the Chair, the Vice Chair, the full Executive Committee and all other externally appointed Board members who had served on the Board before this year. It was not an easy decision to resign. I can assure you that like me these Board members care deeply about Humber students and Humber as an institution. We concluded however that constraints were preventing us from properly and responsibility fulfilling our very important duty of care in public service, and we were left with no other viable path forward but to step down.
I wish all Humber students the best. Keep your focus on your studies, strive to achieve your full potential and your future will be bright.
