Spring Convocation started on Thursday with the first ceremony being held at Grant Hall.

The afternoon event saw graduates of the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing cross the stage, as their friends, families, and loved ones looked on.

The ceremony was also a special event for the university, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the family of Ethelbert Bartholomew.

An upper-year student whose medical career was abruptly ended in 1918 by a ban on admission of Black students to the medical school at Queen’s, Bartholmew was posthumously conferred a Doctor of Medicine degree on Thursday, which was accepted by members of his family.

In April, the university signed an official letter of apology, acknowledging the institution’s past racist actions and repeated failures to hold itself accountable.

Three more ceremonies will be held on Friday at 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm. At the 4 pm ceremony, award-winning Canadian broadcast journalist and Chancellor of the University of Victoria, Shelagh Rogers, will receive the first of seven honorary degrees being handed out by Queen’s at convocation.

Overall, a total of 18 ceremonies are being held for Spring Convocation, with the final one being held Wednesday, June 12. The first 14 will be held at Grant Hall, while the final four will be hosted at the Athletics and Recreation Centre Main Gym.

Live ceremony feeds will begin approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of each ceremony. The full schedule of the ceremonies is available online.

More information about Convocation at Queen's is available on the website of the Office of the University Registrar.

More photos can be viewed at the Queen’s University page on flickr.