At its most recent meeting, the Queen’s Board of Trustees passed an official motion recognizing all campus community members for their commitments and contributions to the university, Kingston, and the province, made since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For over a year, Queen’s students, staff, and faculty, have met the challenges posed by the pandemic head on, rising above them with energy and perseverance,” says Mary Wilson Trider, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “This dedication shown by our campus community, especially those directly involved in our public health and broader health system response, continues to be awe-inspiring. On behalf of my colleagues on the Board, I would like to convey our sincerest gratitude to all..”

The Board chose to underscore the contributions of the Queen’s Faculty of Health Sciences, as their efforts directly bolstered Kingston’s local pandemic response—be it through student volunteers assisting with the vaccine rollout or researchers tracking COVID-19 immunity, to name only a few.

The motion—as moved by Cathy Matthews, seconded by Principal Patrick Deane, and supported unanimously by the Board— reads as follows:

“[T]he Board express its deep appreciation for the staff, faculty, and students of the University who have worked to support each other, the local community, and the health care system since the commencement of the current pandemic over one year ago. The Board particularly wishes to thank the members of the Faculty of Health Sciences and all the other members of the university who have worked to support quality community care and increased capacity to address challenges both in the greater Kingston area and in other parts of the province.”