It’s hard to believe that we are halfway through the summer and that fall is right around the corner. When I think fall in Advancement, I think Homecoming. Obviously, Homecoming will be different this year and we can’t recreate the three days of festivities that we’re accustomed too. We can, however, offer our graduates an exciting and dynamic celebration. I’m pleased to announce that we have hired Proof Experiences to partner with us to host our Homecoming Reunion festivities. Our colleagues in Smith have already worked with Proof Experiences and the results were outstanding. Here’s a taste of the virtual experience Proof offers.
A new approach
Covid-19 has provided us with an opportunity to try some new and different approaches to interaction with our alumni and volunteers. Below I’ve highlighted two successful calling programs:
FAS Alumni Calling Initiative
Alumni volunteers have undertaken a project to call upper-year international and out-of-province Arts and Science students to offer support, remind them of the support and services available, and to reinforce the strength of the Queen's community. This is designed to support students who will potentially be more affected by the remote environment this fall. The project included specially designed outreach to students in China through the WeChat platform. Calling has been a success, with many stories of strong alumni-student connections shared with the organizing team. A few stats:
- There are currently 59 alumni volunteers engaged in calling, including 15 engaged in the WeChat outreach project in China.
- More than 1,250 students have been assigned to alumni callers.
- There have been more than 20 referrals of questions from the callers to the Arts and Science student services team for follow-up.
Annual Giving Calling Initiative
Congratulations, Advancement! Together we connected with thousands of alumni and influenced additional opportunities for Queen’s as a result of this calling initiative. Your incredible commitment to making these calls has strengthened relationships and built bridges with our alumni during a challenging time. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to review the final report so you can read about the tremendous impact of your efforts.
Remote work survey reminder
We would like to remind everyone to please complete the survey announced in ALTogether Now last week.
Now that we have been working remotely for four months, the ALT would like to assess the Advancement team’s well-being, satisfaction, and needs in our remote-work environment. Your feedback is appreciated at this time given the likely continuation of remote work arrangements into the fall.
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 vacancy below with your networks and let’s find some amazing new team members.
Applications (including a cover letter and resume) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Katelyn, Carla, or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.
Available Position:
| POSITION | UNIT AND DEPARTMENT | CLOSING DATE | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relationship Manager, Development & Stewardship | Smith Development and Alumni Engagement | August 4, 2020 | 8 |
| Director, Strategic Communications and Events | Advancement Communications, Marketing, Events & Donor Relations | August 11, 2020 | 11 |
| Associate Vice-Principal (Development) | Development | September 21, 2020 |
Fun fact
Principals
Queen's is distinguished from all but a handful of other Canadian universities by the fact that its most powerful official is a principal, not a president.
This reflects the university's Scottish heritage: the university's founders chose this more modest title, which emphasizes the principal's role as an academic among academics, in imitation of Edinburgh University, the model for Queen's.
At first, the Principal of Queen's had to be a Presbyterian minister and always held the concurrent position of Primarius Professor of Theology. That requirement formally ended in 1912, when Queen's separated from the Presbyterian Church.
Still, the old tradition proved persistent. The string of principals who were ministers was not broken until 1929. Since then, the office has been held by academics in a number of different disciplines, including a geologist, a classicist, two political scientists, three economists, a biologist, an historian, and an English professor.