By Miranda Pugh, Executive Director, Development, Faculty of Law

Dear Colleagues,

As we progress through each month, carrying forward our work, nurturing relationships, and planning strategically for the future, it can be easy to give important calendar moments such as Indigenous History Month a passing nod and hope to find more time for reflection and learning next year. 

By Mike Ziemerink, Toronto Officer, Alumni Strategy

The beginning of June marks the start of both Pride Month and patio season. We were lucky enough to celebrate both last Wednesday, June 7 at Pride at the Pub in Toronto with the Queen’s Queer Alumni Chapter. 

On Monday, May 29, Advance users received an email announcing the successful upgrade to our Oracle environment. This innocent sounding email was the culmination of more than six months of focused systems work by a crack team of colleagues from Advancement and central IT Services. On the Advancement team, I would like to thank Simon Labbett for his incredible leadership in guiding this effort as well as Michael McMullen, Barb Lindsay, Bobbi Kaiser, Jennie Hill, and Rachel Deir for their varied expertise in web, testing, and user experience.

In her note to staff on May 19, Karen referenced the current university deficit and the related mitigation strategies that were announced that morning. In the note she said, “Do we have challenges ahead of us? Yes. Will these new financial pressures require change? Yes, these mitigation strategies are going to push us to make difficult decisions. And yes, this may mean that some things are set aside.” Not exactly happy news for the weekend we kick off summer.

I have been thinking a lot lately about our relationship with the students on campus. I love working from home (really love it!) but I do miss seeing our students in action. As we start the new fiscal year, I have tasked myself with ensuring that I am intentional in building more relationships with members of our student body. It is essential to our work in Advancement that we understand the students’ experience and the unique challenges that they face. This is especially important as we deal with an entire cohort of students who have been affected by the pandemic. 

In the early hours of April 23, my family was impacted by gun violence. A shooting outside her student home woke my daughter Kyle from a sound sleep. She called me that night from the floor of her darkened bedroom, terrified by the sounds of gunfire.

Barely 10 months ago, Kyle sheltered in place at her summer job mere meters from a double homicide. She called me that day too, telling her father and me to stay where we were because the shooter was at large. The images of that experience will haunt her forever.

By Bobbie O’Connor, Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives and Operations, Development 

Before I knew my career would unexpectedly take me away from Queen’s and on to a new challenge at the University of North Carolina, I had this stirring to share with you, my colleagues and community, how my pride as a trans-queer person has guided my career in philanthropy and change-management. 

As one very busy and exciting fiscal year ends and another one begins, it is a time to take stock of what has been accomplished and to set a course for what is yet to come. The start of a new fiscal year is also an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the past. It is a time to recognize the hard work and dedication of those who made success possible -– donors, alumni, volunteers, partners, and YOU.

On Friday, April 15, the 2023/24 Annual Plan for the Office of Advancement was presented at our all-staff meeting. The focus of the meeting was to hear from accountability owners who will drive forward the seven priority objectives for the year.