Message from Jeff Murrell, associate dean, School of Trades:

While it is my pleasure to make this announcement, I do it with a heavy heart as the School of Trades is about to lose one of its members. Don Webb will be retiring from Niagara College on April 30, 2021, after 15 years of dedication to the Carpentry and Renovation program as a part-time and full-time faculty member.

While Don started teaching part-time at Niagara College on January 9, 2006, and made the transition to full-time in July of 2009, very few people know that his connection to the College goes back much further.

Don started here as a student in the 1970’s in the Electronic Technician program. He started his working career as a service technician for a company in Manitoba, servicing electronic equipment that included of all things, air traffic control systems. Fortunately for us, Don returned to Ontario and the Niagara Region and started his Carpenter Apprenticeship working primarily in commercial and industrial construction. Eventually, Don became the owner/operator of his own company and an expert in certain aspects of this type of construction. This is of course a huge leap from air traffic control systems. His expertise in commercial construction has made Don a valuable member of the team and has given our students and graduates exposure to processes and systems that I am sure they would not have gained elsewhere.

Early on in my time here at Niagara College, I was at a Many Hands project and as I did with all the faculty who worked on the project, I thanked him for going above and beyond and his response was interesting but so true. Don said, “don’t thank me, I did not do this for you or Niagara College, I did it for them,” pointing at the students. Over the last few years, it has been something I have observed and have come to respect about Don. He has quietly and modestly gone about his work tirelessly trying to improve the learning experiences and environment for the students never seeking personal recognition or thanks. In doing so, he has made significant and meaningful connections with the students and has not only taught them about Carpentry and the complexities of concrete but changed their lives in the process. They left Niagara College as better people having been taught by him.

While I know Don did not do any of it for me, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the countless number of students who have had the pleasure of being in his class, to thank him for his 15 years of dedicated service.

Please join me in wishing Don all the best as he transitions into the next phase of life, retirement.