New Board member Kelley McKinnon

Five new members of the 2011-2012 Board of Trustees will “hit the ground running” on Friday, with a brief orientation before getting down to business through an action-packed agenda at the trustees’ first meeting of the academic year.

All the new trustees are familiar with Queen’s – as they are faculty, alumni or students – and bring a wide variety of backgrounds and skills to the Board.

• Kelley McKinnon, BAH ’85, LLB ’88, has been recruited back after serving an earlier term from 1994 to 2003. Currently head of securities litigation for the Canadian law firm Gowlings, Ms McKinnon was the university’s first woman rector when she studied law here in 1986;
• Recent Harvard business graduate Colin Lynch, B.Com ’07, BA ’07, MBA ’11 has advised senior policy makers, politicians and corporate executives across multiple sectors;
• Queen’s English professor Rosemary Jolly is an international researcher, AIDS activist and co-founder of rape crisis clinics in South Africa;
• Undergraduate computing student Lauren Long, who holds a Queen’s Chancellor Scholarship, is involved in a number community volunteer projects;
• Argyle Communications president Daniel Tisch, BA ’88, EMBA ’96, is an expert in reputation management and non-profit governance.

“We are extremely fortunate to welcome such a diverse and accomplished group to the Board,” says University Secretary Georgina Moore. “Their expertise and experience in the humanities, marketing, business and law will ensure a range of skills and perspectives to help enrich Board discussions and decision-making.”

The Board is currently in a state of transition, after the signing of Bill S-1001 by the Governor General in June. The bill amends the University’s Charter to allow a gradual reduction in the size of the board, which reflects a general trend among modern charitable, not-for-profit and corporate boards to improve effectiveness.

Bylaws being developed by the Governance and Nominating Committee for membership, procedures, committees, signing authorities and other functions will be brought forward for the Board’s approval over the coming year, says Ms Moore.