Nine days have passed since a devastating earthquake and aftershocks brought suffering and destruction to parts of Türkiye and Syria. The magnitude of the disaster is very clear, but it remains difficult for many of us properly to absorb. Still more challenging is it to understand what action on our part is called for, what those of us remote from the immediate site can and should do to contribute to the relief effort.

I have written many times before that racism has no place on our campus, and while I fully believe that, it would be naïve to think it does not exist. Recent events have made that very clear.

Attending the 16th general conference of the International Association of Universities (IAU) in Dublin this October, I was pleased to accept on behalf of Queen’s a “Learning Badge” that confirmed the progress our university is making in its planning and strategy for internationalization. “Global engagement” is the term we prefer to use for this aspect of our work because it suggests a higher degree of intentionality and purposiveness – not mere acquiescence in a process driven by circumstance.

Queen’s University continues its effort to make advancements in its pursuit of a more equitable campus community. The release of both the 2021-22 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Task Force Implementation reports show advancements made in equity and Indigenization at Queen’s.

The Principal’s Holiday Reception brought Queen’s employees together on Wednesday, Dec. 7, to reconnect with colleagues from across the university, and try out some tasty treats in the main gym of the Athletics and Recreation Centre.

It marked a return to an in-person format for the event for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic.

Attendees were able to submit a ballot for a gingerbread house draw and to donate non-perishable food items for the AMS food bank.

For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Queen’s community will be joining together in person without gathering restrictions for a live ceremony to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on Dec. 6. The national day memorializes the 14 women who were murdered at l’École Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989. It is a day to remember the victims and think about the effects that gender-based violence has had – and continues to have – on society.

Dear Students, Staff and Faculty,

The Honourable Murray Sinclair was named Queen’s University’s 15th Chancellor in April 2021 but, due to the pandemic and illness, an official installation event was not held. That changed on Nov. 15, 2022, when Chancellor Sinclair was formally installed in a special hybrid ceremony broadcasted online from campus’ Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.

This Spring saw Queen’s first in-person convocation since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. It was a gloriously festive event with two ceremonies every day for five days, during which graduands from 2022 as well as the two previous years were able to cross the stage, receive much-deserved congratulations, and savour their success.