Durham College gets top marks for its kind culture
In 2014, while Dr. Elaine Popp was attending a leadership conference in British Columbia, she met two employees from Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology (Durham) who spoke highly about the people and the friendly, supportive culture at Durham. A couple of months later, when Popp saw a posting for a vice-president’s role there, she remembered their conversation and applied. “The moment I stepped on campus, I felt welcomed and supported,” she says.
Durham College, which has campuses in Whitby, Ont. and Oshawa, Ont., offers a broad range of applied arts and technology programs. “Durham is like a friendly, collaborative, mini city,” says Popp, who was appointed president in March 2024. “Our campuses have everything students and staff want and need, yet we’re small and nimble. Durham doesn’t treat you like a number – you have a name here.”
During the first week of classes, it’s not uncommon for Popp and other employees to walk students who are lost to their classes. Lucy Romao Vandepol, director of student and career development, has done so many times. “It’s an opportunity for me to engage with that student as I walk with them, ask some questions and provide them with additional information,” she says.
Romao Vandepol first joined Durham in 2007 as a first-year experience coordinator, which was a 14-month maternity-leave contract. Since then, she has worked as a full-time staffer in five different departments, benefited from myriad professional development programs and completed a master of arts degree with a focus on education (Durham reimbursed her tuition fees). “I love learning, and the numerous opportunities have helped me grow personally and professionally,” she says.
Throughout her time at the college, Romao Vandepol has also taught several general education classes part-time. “No matter what your role is, you really feel like you’re part of something bigger,” she says. “It’s such a collaborative experience to be part of that.”
Popp agrees that the literally collegial nature of the collaboration is outstanding. “It’s really a place like no other in terms of support,” she says. “Right from our recruiting process, candidates are exposed first-hand to the type of culture we nurture here. We’re all singing the same song, not just in the interviews but also in daily practice.”
Training and development are key to retaining top talent. “I experienced that investment as a young employee earlier in my career, and I’m in the role I am now because of that,” says Popp. “I want all employees to feel like their supervisor is encouraging them and that their strengths are fully tapped into.”
Training comes in many areas, including modules in mental health first aid, leadership and development, onboarding and orientation, Indigenous culture and reconciliation, and intercultural awareness. Formal and informal mentorship programs are available for faculty and support staff.
Many students go on to become employees. Popp has heard several of them say that it was their “dream” to work at Durham. And several employees send their children there, thanks to a generous tuition discount.
Romao Vandepol continues to get excited by the work that she and her colleagues do to support students’ experiences and development. “There’s variety in each workday and opportunities to try new things, and still lots for me to learn and do,” she says. “We’re always looking to the future, because the world is changing, and our students’ needs are changing.”
A closed loop makes for open doors at Durham College
Whenever David Hawey gets a whiff of onions cooking, he’s transported back to his childhood. Growing up in small communities, Hawey was raised on the concept of growing and preserving your own food, and on the zero-waste practices he gets to implement today in the curriculum at Ontario’s Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology.
“I’ve always brought that to work,” says the faculty of hospitality and horticultural science professor. “When I was an industry chef, I brought it to work and next into the education system – I’ve always believed that it’s important.”
When Hawey joined Durham College 13 years ago, he was taken by its shared vision for sustainability in the hospitality and agricultural industry – from reducing food waste to lowering energy consumption.
“The practices are only going to get better. We’re training the next generation of the workforce and because our graduates take these practices back into their workplaces, we’re constantly able to raise the bar in our own operation.”
At the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food at the college’s Whitby, Ont., campus just east of Toronto, the philosophy around food consumption is comprehensive and given careful consideration at every step of the process, including harvesting, packaging and preparation, he says.
Working closely with the campus farm manager, Hawey is able to harmonize what is grown in the fields and what is used in the curriculum.
New technologies like a biodigester – a contained system on site that allows for food scraps to be composted efficiently on campus – allow for a closed-loop system the college calls “field-to-fork-to-field.”
“We can grow it, we can process it, then we can utilize it back into the fields, which is really quite amazing,” says Hawey. “That significantly lowers the need for contract composting.”
By cutting down on contract composting, the college also reduces the need for trucks coming in and out of the campus to remove compost scraps.
Minimizing food waste also breeds culinary creativity. For example, a second life is given to vegetable trimmings as dehydrated stock powder, or to beet skins transforming a handmade dough into a red pasta.
“Students can see that we’re not just doing it for the sake of doing it, we’re doing it for an end reason,” explains Hawey. “You can see the cause and the effect – it’s a closed loop.”
The focus on innovation in sustainability at the college, which also has a campus in nearby Oshawa, is part of a shared vision across many disciplines that ripples out globally.
“Our community benefits from our focus on innovation,” says Rebecca Milburn, principal at Whitby campus and executive dean, faculty of hospitality and horticulture science.“If we can improve our community both locally and internationally, our students can take their expertise and share it with the world – that’s what we’re doing here.”
Advancements like the ‘greenification’ of learning spaces on campus, the Vanhaverbeke Family EV Training Centre or urban agricultural practices are just a few examples of how Durham College makes sure that students are not left behind after graduation.
“Staying ahead of new technology ensures our students will have a sought-after skill set anywhere,” says Milburn.
Having the support of the administration is one of the ways that Durham College continues evolving its programs to stay ahead of the curve. Faculty are given the room to experiment with new ideas before they are implemented on a larger scale.
“We’ve been really lucky. There are so many initiatives going on across the college – and they come from the students, too,” Hawey says.
“That means a lot when you know that the next generation can put out ideas and they will be seriously considered,” he says. “It’s quite amazing.”