Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to you today as we finish the Fall 2021 semester to thank you, once again, for everything you do, and wish you and yours a safe, healthy and happy holiday. Unfortunately, this holiday break comes along with yet another wave of COVID. The news has been disappointing, even gutting. This is certainly not where any of us hoped we would be on the eve of 2022. But healthcare workers are once again displaying incredible determination in battling this latest wave.
Over the weekend, thanks to a pop-up vaccination clinic at an Etobicoke primary school, I was able to get my 5-year-old daughter her first Pfizer shot, and obtain boosters for my wife and her parents. I was struck by the cheerfulness and professionalism of the health care workers on site. Despite everything they have gone through, it was clear they were as committed as ever to doing all they could to protect the public from COVID-19.
I see that same commitment and professionalism with our employees, who are focused each day on ensuring our students get the support and first-rate education they deserve. I am privileged to be able work with all of you.
I am also grateful to live in a country where vaccines are widely available, and the majority of us have received two shots, with a third on the way. This is not the case in much of the world. Africa has the lowest vaccination rate of any continent, with just 12.1 percent of the population receiving at least one dose of a vaccine. To reduce the risk of yet another variant emerging, more must be done to provide access to vulnerable populations.
In the meantime, I hope you are able to share some memorable moments over the holidays, whether virtually or in person, with the people you love and those who love and care about you. And I urge you to disconnect from work.
Special thanks to Public Relations students Diana Dang and Taylor Ellis for editing this newsletter. They are stepping in for Afshaan Purvez and Devin Andrade who are away on assignment.
Stay well, and stay safe.
In response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant, today I am announcing that while the winter term will start as planned on January 10, 2022, the start of all in‑person classes and labs will be delayed until January 24.
Students scheduled for in-person classes and labs starting January 10 will hear from their program on alternative arrangements for the first two weeks of the term. Please be patient as those arrangements are made.
Hybrid and flexible delivery classes will be delivered in online format only until January 24.
Campuses will reopen January 4, but all services will remain online. Unless required for essential duties, employees are to remain working remotely.
Students may come to campus to use large study spaces, but gyms and fitness facilities will not reopen until January 24. Masking and physical distancing policies on campus will be strictly enforced.
Seneca’s first priority remains the health and safety of our community, and our vaccination policy ensures only fully vaccinated individuals are coming on campus.
Now, it is time for everyone who is eligible to get a booster to increase your defences against the virus. The province has announced that everyone 18 and over in Ontario may get a booster shot three months after their last dose. I encourage you to get yours as soon as possible.
Stay well.
Seneca placed 2nd amongst 11 colleges at the 2021 Ontario Colleges’ Marketing Competition (OCMC). This is an annual marketing competition that was hosted by Humber College virtually this year.
This two-day event brings highly-motivated students in Ontario together to compete in 11 unique marketing-related challenges. Seneca Marketing placed top five in seven out of eleven challenges, which is an amazing feat!
The Seneca teams were led by Professor Scott Campbell, Administrative Coordinator Theresa Seto and many of the coaches that earned us among the top five. We would like to give thanks to the following faculty coaches: Elliott Atkins, Nadia Bedok, Jason Djoc, Bill Doern, Scott Campbell, Kathryn Faubert, Domenic Gasparro, Stefan Kanitz, Steven Litt, Susan McVey, Dana Moskowitz, Margaret Osborne, Duncan Reith, Shannon Ross, and Drew Simons.
The OCMC ended with a Friday virtual awards ceremony. Liliia Khitruk, a Business Marketing student, was awarded the William & Margaret Lydiatt Award. This award is given to one student from participating colleges that demonstrated exceptional spirit, integrity, and commitment to the OCMC. Congratulations Liliia!
Students in Seneca’s Event Management program collaborated with Bloor Street Entertains again this year, hosting a memorable night in support of AIDS Research! Bloor Street Entertains formally became part of the curriculum as a capstone project for the Creative Design (EVC) Program in 2006. Since then the students have been working alongside culinary masters, lavish retailers, and talented florists to create multiple simultaneous dining experiences in different locations across the GTA in support of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR).
This year, Bloor Street Entertains (BSE) hosted 16 dinner parties and four after-dinner receptions, raising over $1.1 million towards AIDS research in Canada. Seneca students and faculty got to design five venues, including: the Park Hyatt, the Gardiner Museum, Rimowa, LUMAS Gallery, and Harry Rosen. Seneca graciously sponsored the flowers for venues that did not have existing floral partners.
On November 19, Seneca hosted a Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony. This is an annual observance that honours the memory of transgender people whose lives have been lost due to acts of anti-transgender violence. Elliot Lee-Mok, an alumni from the School of Fashion, hosted the observance and provided information about TDOR to online attendees.
TDOR serves to raise public awareness of the hate crimes against transgender people. By mourning and honouring the lives of the people within the community, TDOR is a day of respect and love. This is a very important day to the 2SLGBTQ+ community, especially for the trans, non-binary and gender-variant communities.
There are some ways for allies to support the 2SLGBTQ+ community. This includes: learning and understanding about trans experiences, normalizing pronoun usage, and supporting individuals' decisions to come out or not. You can also donate to 2SLGBTQ+ organizations or to individuals through Mutual Aid, Transition Funds and more. Seneca is also accepting donations for 2SLGBTQ+ scholarships.
The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion will be donating $5000 in Elliot’s name in the new year as a thank you for their efforts and leadership within the community.
On December 7, Seneca’s School of Creative Arts and Animation’s Diversity & Inclusion Speaking Series hosted Peter Knegt to speak on the origins and evolutions in the LGBTQ+ community. Peter Knegt is a Toronto-based writer, producer and filmmaker. His work includes the book About Canada: Queer Rights, a historical account of the LGBTQ+ rights movement in Canada, and several LGBTQ+-focused short films that he wrote directed and starred in.
Currently, he is a writer and producer for the CBC, where his work has won him four Canadian Screen Awards (for the digital series “Canada’s a Drag” and “Superqueeroes”), and his 2019 Digital Publishing Award for best digital column in Canada (for the weekly LGTBQ focused column “Queeries”).
Knegt explored Canada’s unique history of LGBTQ+ identity and LGBTQ+ communities, from Jim Egan to The Body Politic Magazine to the AIDS crisis. He looks forward to the importance of intersectionality, both within the community as a whole and specifically within the creative arts.
Feel free to watch below, using the password: DHG8@%s3
We are so excited for FCAD Newsletter contributor, Devin Andrade, as her podcast “Crimes Against Food” has been listed as a semi-finalist for iHeartRadio’s “The Next Great Podcast.” This contest is an international competition that received thousands of applicants. “Crimes Against Food” is listed in the top ten.
Devin’s podcast is a unique combination of the popular podcast genre of true crime and baking. Each episode walks the audience through an amazing food mystery, using the gripping twists and turns you would expect from a true-crime podcast. Click the link below to listen to her pilot episode, which investigates the psychological manipulation involving Betty Crocker’s boxed cakes during the 1950s and 60s.
Congratulations to Seneca’s Sheila Banderchuk Zeferino, a 5th-semester Fashion Arts student, for winning the grand prize in TITIKA Active Couture’s International Challenge Design Competition. Participants were tasked with designing garments based on the feeling of elation, hope and renewal, and were judged based on sketches, production, creativity, technical quality and adherence to the theme. Sheila worked on each of the garments from start to finish. You can see Sheila’s designs at the link below. Congratulations Sheila!
At Seneca, we strive to give our students hands-on learning experiences with real companies. Third semester radio students from the RTVR program have recently completed their annual Public Service Announcement (PSA) project. They worked with Cystic Fibrosis Canada to learn what the organization wants to communicate to their audience and key points to use for a PSA.
The students produced the PSAs after they had worked with the CF Canada staff and presented their final work to the organization. “As always, the Seneca students have done an amazing job and this project is so beneficial not only for the students, but for us as well,” said Jeff Beach, Chief of Corporate Services and Strategic Initiatives, CF Canada.
Seneca’s School of Media Professor Amanda Cupido is taking on a new role as the Program Director at 640 Toronto. It's believed that Amanda is the first woman to lead a talk radio station in Toronto. She will continue to teach and advise at both Seneca and Ryerson. Congratulations Amanda!
I'm honoured to be joining the Corus team to think beyond the kind of talk radio that Canada is accustomed to hearing. In class at Seneca, I always encourage students to push the boundaries of audio and digital storytelling. I will continue to champion that same sense of curiosity and innovation at 640 Toronto. Back when I was attending journalism school, there were few women leading radio stations. I had always wanted to change that landscape. I'm grateful that Corus has given me the opportunity to do just that. I hope Seneca students will see this, and know that they can also blaze a trail in the same way.” - Amanda Cupido
Margo Bock will be joining us as our new SMD (Social Media) Program Coordinator for the winter semester, effective January 4, 2022.
Many of you already know Margo from her many years as a professor in our marketing programs. She began teaching at Seneca in 2018 and has taught in social media, marketing, and marketing management. Her specialties are interactive and digital marketing, graphic and web design, and marketing strategy and analysis.
Margo’s industry experience includes: managing her own media solutions company, National Account Director at Cineplex, National Sales Director at TC Media, and teaching marketing and advertising courses at Centennial College. You can learn more about Margo here.
Margo is replacing long-time SMD coordinator Bill Doern. Bill has done a remarkable job of stewarding the program over the last three years. He is currently leading a major modification for the program and changing the program code and name to Digital Marketing Management (target launch is Fall 2023). Bill will continue in a non-teaching role in the winter semester to support the major modification and to mentor Margo. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Bill for his work and leadership!
The School of Fashion welcomes Jenny Muccioli as a new faculty member. She has a BAA from Ryerson’s Fashion program and has been in the industry for over 20 years. Her experience includes being a Brand Manager for Izod and Calvin Klein and as a Marketing Director for several leading Canadian brands. With an eye for sustainability and developing brand success, she is looking forward to creating a positive teaching environment for students.
Seneca and the Visual Merchandising Arts program are excited to welcome Shawn Schmidt as a new professor for the program. Shawn Schmidt has over 30 years of Visual Display and Merchandising experience, and is known for creating elaborate and award-winning window displays. As the National Director of Le Chateau Inc., his displays often include one-of-a-kind props and over-the-top installations.
Shawn also has experience as a fashion stylist for photoshoots, including TOM (Men’s Fashion Week), runway shows in Toronto and Montreal, film and TV and red carpet events. Shawn has appeared on CTV’s “ETalk” and Global TV’s “The Morning Show.” His work has also been featured in the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail.
Welcome to Seneca, Shawn!
Over 100 classrooms across all Seneca’s campuses have been reconfigured for the flexible learning course delivery option. These new upgrades and expansions will allow for a more integrated and interactive hands-on learning. Students can look forward to the following:
- New student-run marketing agency lab at Seneca@York. Students from the School of Marketing & Media would be able to use this non-traditional learning environment to collaborate for their research projects.
- The Animation Arts Centre at Seneca@York has been redesigned to accommodate a larger number of students. A new drawing studio has also been added with animation tables. Each table includes a professional tablet and the ability to connect to the instructor’s station through Zoom.
- The Markham Campus is getting a facelift this winter term. New changes include: a new Seneca Student Federation office, new welcome desk and lounge in the lobby, and new seating for students on the third and fourth floors.
United Way Campaign
Thanks to the support of our employees and the Seneca Student Federation, this year Seneca raised more than $67,000 for the United Way Campaign, surpassing our fundraising goal. Our deepest gratitude to everyone who donated and participated in this year’s campaign.
It's a "bones day"
The #SenecaProud podcast is back with President David Agnew kicking off the new season discussing what students and employees can expect when they return on campus and more. Also, find out why President Agnew always thinks it's a "bones day".
Think globally
Apply for a global opportunity at a Seneca international partner institution. Virtual and in-person teaching opportunities are available.
Research opportunities
Submit your proposal for the Seneca Social Innovation Research Fund. The fund provides support for applied research projects working with external partners and providing experiential learning for students.
Listen up
Joseph Osei Bonsu, two-time Seneca graduate, joins host Pat Perdue for the second episode of the #SenecaProud podcast. They discuss the skills Mr. Bonsu gained at Seneca that helped launch his career as a professional artist and illustrator.
November 2021 || October 2021 || September 2021 || June 2021 || May 2021 || April 2021 || March 2021 || February 2021
December 2020 || November 2020 || October 2020 || September 2020 || August 2020