Principal and Vice-Chancellor Daniel Woolf announced two senior appointments today following unanimous approval by the Board of Trustees.

Karen Bertrand (Artsci’94) will serve as Vice-Principal (Advancement), succeeding Tom Harris who will be stepping down from the role he has held since 2010.

“I am delighted to welcome Karen Bertrand to Queen’s and look forward to the expertise and enthusiasm she will bring to this important role,” says Principal Woolf. “She has an incredible track record of success in post-secondary fundraising and she is well placed to work closely with our alumni, donors, and friends to ensure Queen’s remains a premier destination for students and faculty across Canada and internationally.”

Ms. Bertrand joins Queen’s from the University of Guelph where she has worked in progressively senior positions. Beginning in 2012, Ms. Bertrand led a team that successfully raised $200 million in the BetterPlanet Project campaign. In 2014, she was appointed as Associate Vice-President, Major Gift Advancement, overseeing teams for major gift fundraising, stewardship and donor relations, prospect management, and financial services. Prior to her time at Guelph, she was with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario for 11 years

“I am thrilled to be joining Queen’s University at this exciting time,” says Ms. Bertrand. “As a proud alumna of Queen’s I know the passion people feel for their alma mater and I look forward to working collaboratively to build upon the extraordinary success of the recent Initiative Campaign, and inspire life-long relationships with and unprecedented support from alumni, benefactors, and volunteers."

Ms. Bertrand says her advancement career is rooted in her experience at Queen’s as an undergraduate. In addition to serving on several senate committees as a student and being an active member of the Queen’s International Affairs Association and the Queen’s Model United Nations – serving as Secretary-General in her fourth year – she worked in the advancement call centre during her first year on campus. As a first-generation university graduate, she also benefited from student scholarships created by the extraordinary generosity of private donors.

Ms. Bertrand will begin her continuing appointment as Vice-Principal (Advancement) on July 1, 2018.

Principal Woolf also announced today that Kimberly Woodhouse has accepted a two-year appointment as Interim Vice-Principal (Research), succeeding John Fisher who has been in the  position since March 1, 2017.

Dr. Woodhouse is currently a professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, after serving as dean of that faculty for two five-year terms from June 2007 to 2017.

“The Vice-Principal (Research) is one of the university’s most important positions and I am delighted Dr. Woodhouse has agreed to take on this challenge,” says Principal Woolf. “Thanks to her experience in her previous position, Dr. Woodhouse will provide leadership that ensures the highest standards of scholarship and interdisciplinary collaboration.”

Dr. Woodhouse’s appointment begins on July 1, 2018. She will work with the Principal and the Board of Trustees to define the broader research portfolio and clarify the growing relationship between research and innovation at Queen’s and the resources that will support it. Once this work is complete, the university will be in a better position to recruit for this critical vice-principal role and set the chosen candidate up for success.

“There is a growing recognition of the important role played by research and innovation on the national stage,” says Dr. Woodhouse. “I am excited to continue the work undertaken by Dr. Fisher to help Queen’s accelerate our performance in research and to help create an even stronger research culture across the campus, one that also embraces innovation.”

Dr. Woodhouse is a professional engineer, holds several patents, and co-founded a biotechnology company. In addition to her academic background, Dr. Woodhouse has almost a decade of experience in private sector manufacturing and experience with the granting councils, in particular the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), chair of a Canadian Institutes for Health Research grants panel, and the Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board. She has also received numerous awards, including the Premier’s Research Excellence Award and the Professional Engineers Ontario Engineering Medal. She is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

“I look forward to welcoming both Karen and Kim to their new positions at Queen’s. Both are proven leaders and innovators in their fields who will help us in our efforts to deliver an outstanding student learning experience in a comprehensive research-intensive environment,” says Principal Woolf. ”At the same time, I’d like to thank John Fisher for his excellent work over the past year in, among other things, guiding the development of the next Strategic Research Plan. And I am very grateful to Tom Harris for eight and a half years of outstanding leadership of our Advancement operations, including his leadership of our successful Initiative Campaign”.

The Queen’s Board of Trustees approved both the appointments of Ms. Bertrand and Dr. Woodhouse in a special meeting on March 29, 2018.