By Andrew Stokes, Communications Officer

The university will host a celebration on Tuesday for 167 faculty and staff members who have worked at Queen’s for 25, 30, 35, 40 or 45 years.

“Our longstanding employees, both faculty and staff, are a great asset to the Queen’s community,” says Principal Daniel Woolf. “They are not only the keepers of valuable institutional knowledge, they also possess the kind of wisdom that comes from having worked in their respective fields for some time. We are very fortunate to have such experience in our midst.”

Dr. Peter Taylor has worked at Queen's for 45 years. He's sitting on a bench dedicated to Queen's staff. (University Communications)

Four Queen’s employees will receive recognition for their 45 years of service. The university will present Susan Barsby, John Hartwick, Charles Pentland and Peter Taylor with a handcrafted golden pin bearing the Queen’s crest.

Hired by Queen’s immediately after completing his PhD at Harvard, Dr. Taylor has enjoyed a wide-ranging career, opting to switch his research focus after 15 years on the job. From being a mathematician, Dr. Taylor transitioned into work as a mathematical biologist, an interdisciplinary field with many applications in medicine. He was excited about the switch, saying he loves, “seeing the way mathematics links with the natural world. There’s so much math everywhere in everything we do.”

Dr. Taylor says Kingston’s quality of life has kept him from seeking opportunities further afield. “Kingston is a hell of a place to live. I don’t know why I’d want to live anywhere else.”

Dr. Hartwick (Economics) says his students have kept him engaged over the decades.

“Being surrounded by young people is one of the great things about working at a university,” he says. “Year after year you get new faces, new enthusiasms, and new approaches to investigating economic issues.“

Dr. Hartwick joined Queen’s right after finishing his PhD at Johns Hopkins. He jokes that he has been “slogging forward through research projects with continually renewed enthusiasm ever since.”

The two other 45-year honorees are Ms. Barsby, Senior Monographs Assistant at Stauffer Library, and Dr. Pentland, a professor in the Department of Political Studies.

Visit the Human Resources website to view a complete list of employees who will be honoured at this year’s Celebration of Service dinner on Tuesday, May 13.