Daniel Bartholomew, the son of Ethelbert Bartholomew, who was affected by the 1918 ban on admission of Black students to the medical school at Queen’s, listens to Richard Reznick, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Dr. Maria Bartholomew and Rosalind Bartholomew hand the posthumous Doctor of Medicine for Ethelbert Bartholomew to his son Daniel, during Thursday's convocation ceremony in Grant Hall.- The family of Ethelbert Bartholomew take to the stage at Grant Hall to receive his Doctor of Medicine from Principal and Vice-Chancellor Daniel Woolf, Chancellor Jim Leech, and Rector Alex Da Silva.
- Dr. Maria Bartholomew, Daniel Bartholomew and Rosalind Bartholomew hold the Doctor of Medicine conferred posthumously to Ethelbert Bartholomew, who was affected by the 1918 ban on admission of Black students to the medical school at Queen’s
- Daniel Bartholomew gives a thumb's up as he reaches out to Edward Thomas (Sc'06, MASc'12), who researched the expulsion of Black medical students in 1918.
- An Indigenous graduate of the School of Medicine receives a blanket from Laura Maracle, Indigenous Cultural Safety Coordinator, during Thursday's convocation ceremony.
- Family members celebrate as a loved one receives her doctoral degree during the convocation ceremony for the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing at Grant Hall.
- A graduate of the School of Medicine is hooded by her parents as Tony Sanfilippo, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, and Principal and Vice-Chancellor Daniel Woolf, look on.
- Director of the School of Nursing and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Jenny Medves speaks to the graduands and their families and friends at Thursday's convocation ceremony.
Spring Convocation started on Thursday with the first ceremony being held at Grant Hall.
The afternoon event saw graduates of the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing cross the stage, as their friends, families, and loved ones looked on.
The ceremony was also a special event for the university, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the family of Ethelbert Bartholomew.
An upper-year student whose medical career was abruptly ended in 1918 by a ban on admission of Black students to the medical school at Queen’s, Bartholmew was posthumously conferred a Doctor of Medicine degree on Thursday, which was accepted by members of his family.
In April, the university signed an official letter of apology, acknowledging the institution’s past racist actions and repeated failures to hold itself accountable.
Three more ceremonies will be held on Friday at 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm. At the 4 pm ceremony, award-winning Canadian broadcast journalist and Chancellor of the University of Victoria, Shelagh Rogers, will receive the first of seven honorary degrees being handed out by Queen’s at convocation.
Overall, a total of 18 ceremonies are being held for Spring Convocation, with the final one being held Wednesday, June 12. The first 14 will be held at Grant Hall, while the final four will be hosted at the Athletics and Recreation Centre Main Gym.
Live ceremony feeds will begin approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of each ceremony. The full schedule of the ceremonies is available online.
More information about Convocation at Queen's is available on the website of the Office of the University Registrar.
More photos can be viewed at the Queen’s University page on flickr.