[175th Birthday sign on Union Street]

Happy 175th Queen’s! Alumni Asked To Post 175th Birthday Messages On Social Media And Celebrate In Their Hometowns

Let’s celebrate! The university is turning 175 years old during the 2016-17 academic year and the Queen’s University Alumni Association (QUAA) believes this is worth celebrating.

The QUAA will honour this big occasion by having several Alumni Branches hold birthday events in mid-October. People are also being encouraged to post Happy Birthday messages on their social media accounts using the hashtag #Queensu175.

“Alumni should be very proud of our 175 year history,” says QUAA president Sue Bates, Artsci’91. “We want to share the news of this historic milestone with everyone. I am hoping people will take to social media to wish the university a happy 175th or share a favourite Queen’s memory, as well as attend a branch event in their area.”  

A lot has changed since Queen’s held its first class in a house at 67 Colborne Street in Kingston. Back then, the university consisted of two professors and 13 students.

Today, Queen’s has evolved into one of the world’s leading academic institutions. Over the years we taught Canada’s first university graduate of colour, had U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt give a historically significant speech on campus, received the Nobel Prize for Physics, and even won three Grey Cups. Our graduates helped create the Canadian flag, flown on the Space Shuttle, and produced/directed Emmy-winning TV shows and Oscar-winning movies.

To celebrate the university’s historic legacy, several Alumni Branches – including Calgary, Edmonton, Okanagan (B.C.), Sudbury, Toronto, and Vancouver – are combining 175th birthday events with viewing parties on Oct. 15 for the Homecoming football game against the Windsor Lancers. Other branches have different plans to bring Queen’s alumni together to celebrate Queen’s 175th. (See our Branch Events Calendar for a full list of activities.) The timing was also chosen to coincide with “University Day” – Queen’s was incorporated by a Royal Charter issued from Queen Victoria on Oct. 16, 1841.

“We know that not everyone can make it back to Kingston for the on campus 175th anniversary celebrations so we want to bring the tricolour party to alumni and give them a chance to celebrate with their local Branches,” says Liz Gorman, Sc’97, Queen’s Associate Director of Alumni and Student Engagement.   

Some prominent alumni have already recorded birthday wishes, including journalist Ali Velshi, Artsci’94, Toronto International Film Festival CEO Piers Handling, Arts’71, and long-time Queen’s Chaplain Brian Yealland, MDiv’72.

The Queen’s Alumni social media accounts will be retweeting and sharing some of the best birthday wishes.