The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will visit Queen’s on Wednesday, April 1, as the Principal’s Distinguished Visitor and deliver a public lecture.

“The university is extremely honoured to host the Lieutenant Governor, whom I know to be passionate about innovation,” says Daniel Woolf, Principal and Vice-Chancellor. “After speaking with Her Honour at the Sir John A. Macdonald Bicentennial Celebrations in January, I’m looking forward to sharing some of the work being done on Queen’s campus and hearing her address the Queen’s community as part of the Principal’s Forum.”

While on campus, Her Honour will participate in a roundtable with students and faculty discussing how Queen’s brings multiple perspectives to the table, encourages innovation, and cultivates new ideas to solve problems. Following the round table, Her Honour will give a public lecture entitled “Ideas that Matter: Conversations with Ontarians” as part of the Principal’s Forum in the Goodes Hall Commons.

“I look forward to meeting with students during my visit to Kingston,” Ms. Dowdeswell says. “Achieving environmental protection, social inclusion and economic prosperity is not an unreachable goal; it is a work in progress that demands innovation and the best of us all. Universities have always been among the first to call our attention to important societal issues, and it is with enthusiasm that I look forward to hearing about what students and faculty at Queen’s are doing to integrate these themes into their ongoing work.”

Before moving into her role as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Her Honour has served as President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies and as an Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, and holds 10 honorary degrees.

For more information on the Lieutenant Governor, go to lgontario.ca.

Ms. Dowdeswell’s public lecture will take place in the Goodes Hall Commons from noon until 12:50 pm on April 1.

The Principal’s Forum is a lecture series in which notable guests are invited to campus to give a public address on matters of Canadian import. Past speakers have included world-renowned scholar Dipesh Chakrabarty, His Excellency the Governor General, the Rt. Hon. David Johnston, and the Rt. Hon. Tricia Marwick MSP, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.