Learning, learning, learning! One of the more pleasant and unexpected results of the global pandemic is that many conferences and workshops have been forced to offer creative online programming. This has created a more accessible environment for learning and training. It has allowed us to drop into one or two sessions during a busy workday and removed financial barriers created by travel and distance. While it’s not the same as being in-person, many of the conferences and workshops have been extremely successful.
I recently had the opportunity to attend the CAAE (Council of Alumni Association Executives) Winter Institute and participate in a couple of CASE District II events. I never fail to come out of these programs with new and exciting ideas. This year, however, I was struck by how reassured and encouraged I was by what I was hearing. Many schools in the U.S. and Canada are facing the same challenges as we are in Alumni Relations at Queen’s. Themes such as connecting alumni engagement to philanthropy, expanding young alumni, student-to-alumni transition programs, developing effective strategies for virtual alumni programming, and EDII were woven through the sessions I attended. We are proactively approaching these challenges, and it was clear to me that we are on the right track and keeping pace with many of our peers.
We are exploring options to build a library of content and takeaways from recent conferences for all of Advancement to access. If you have suggestions, please let us know. Keep an eye out in this newsletter for more information on how to share and access this information.
Call for volunteers
Keeping with tradition, Enhancement Day programming will be designed by staff, for staff. If you are interested in being a co-chair and/or volunteering to help plan and deliver Advancement Enhancement 2021, please email Kate Bearse by end of day Friday, Mar. 12.
For those new to Advancement, Enhancement Day is a day dedicated to staff, where we celebrate each other and take part in personal and professional development activities. In 2020, we pivoted to a fully virtual Enhancement Month where we celebrated #togetherthursday each week for the month of June. The plan for this year is to deliver a diverse virtual program similar to 2020 during the month of June, and we cannot wait to see you there!
Our first planning meeting will be scheduled for the week of Mar. 22. Subsequent meetings will be on a bi-weekly basis (weekly in May).
Goodbye WhatCounts, hello Encompass
By Rachel Deir
We are happy to announce that, effective today, all emails are now being built and deployed from our new email system, Encompass. Email creators are reminded that access to WhatCounts will be removed this Friday.
At this time, I would also like to thank WhatCounts for the ups and downs, good days and bad. Over the last seven years, it has supported us in sending emails to more than 28 million recipients. Onwards and upwards!
Watch for updates on the Encompass Event implementation coming soon!
Jobs with Advancement
We need your recruitment help. Know great talent that would be a good addition to our team? If so, please promote the vacancies below with your networks and let’s find some amazing new team members.
Applications (including a cover letter and résumé) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Carla or the hiring manager for the position you are interested.
Available Position:
| POSITION | UNIT AND DEPARTMENT | CLOSING DATE | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Director, Regional Strategy | Alumni Relations & Annual Giving | March 21, 2021 | 10 |
| Associate Director, Toronto Strategy | Alumni Relations & Annual Giving | March 11, 2021 | 10 |
| Manager, Young Alumni & Giving | Alumni Relations & Annual GIving | March 4, 2021 | 9 |
Did you Know?
Dr. Hugh Gordon Hylvestra Cummins, MD 1919
Dr. Cummins was one of seven founding members, in 1938, of the Barbados Progressive League, which later became the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). The BLP brought universal adult suffrage to Barbados, as well as universal health care, free secondary education, and a number of other reforms. Dr. Cummins became the country’s second premier, a position he held from 1958 to 1961.
Read the full story and other lost alumni stories caused by the banning of Black students from the School of Medicine by the Queen's University Senate in 1918.