The following message was sent to all faculty and staff at Queen’s University. A similar message was sent to all students as well.

Dear Faculty and Staff,

First, let me personally wish you the very best for the new year. I think we all anticipate it will be a challenging one for the university, but I am hopeful that as we have done in the past, we will face obstacles together and emerge stronger for our efforts. The administration has been meeting with community members about our budget situation and earlier this month, members of the administration spoke with Senate about the issue. While there is no risk to Queen’s in the immediate future, it is clear that for long term sustainability, now is the time for us to look very carefully at the way we operate as an institution and consider how to realize our aspirational goals, particularly in the face of limited resources. As a university, our priority must always be the academic mission, nurturing state of the art research and providing an outstanding experience for our students. Doing this is no easy feat, even in the best of times, taking concerted time and effort from dedicated employees across the university. I am grateful to everyone who contributes to Queen’s success, and remain committed, no matter what our circumstances, to ensuring that the culture of our university is one of inclusion where all our community members are treated with dignity and respect.

At this critical juncture we need to assess and evaluate our operations, particularly with respect to professional services. The Provost and Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration) will shortly be announcing a new project in cooperation with consultants from Nous Group (Nous and NousCubane). This project will require input from many of you as we gather data about our professional services. Data will enable us to compare ourselves with other postsecondary institutions, using benchmarks for us to improve delivery of these services. The goal of this review is to help us understand where we need to invest to meet current challenges and secure future opportunities. Now more than ever, we must work collaboratively to enhance our academic mission and support the delivery of a world class education for our students.

I know that our current financial pressures are causing stress across the Queen’s community, and as I said at the start of this message, the coming year will not be an easy one. But I am confident that with the leadership of our Provost and the Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration), as well as other leaders across the institution, the decisions that lie ahead of us and the inevitable changes that will come will be the result of great care, consideration, and reflection. Queen’s University is a proud institution with a long history and an enviable reputation, and I know that it has a brilliant future ahead. As Principal, I am dedicating myself to keeping Queen’s on a path of success and with hard work I know we will emerge from this challenging time a stronger and even better university.

Patrick Deane
Principal & Vice-Chancellor