1. Initiatives
  2. Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion

Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion

In the fall of 2016, the Queen’s community raised concerns regarding an off-campus event involving students dressed in costumes that stereotyped various cultural groups. In response, Principal Daniel Woolf established the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI) to make recommendations to help foster a campus that is welcoming, respectful, and reflective of diverse identities.

Informed through consultation with students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI) produced an extensive report that sets out recommendations and actions to be taken to address racism, diversity, and inclusion at Queen’s.

Following the release of the PICRDI report in April 2017, some important first steps have been taken towards implementation:

  • The Deputy Provost role was revised to provide leadership for equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of the university’s operations, and re-titled as Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Inclusion). This new role provides a clear line of accountability on behalf of the administration to the Queen’s community regarding the implementation of the PICRDI recommendations and overseeing progress on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

  • Interim performance metrics have been developed to monitor, assess, and report on the progress of advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion at Queen’s.

  • Outreach and recruitment measures have been expanded for students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds to ensure the university is successful in attracting leading talent to Queen’s.

  • The University Council on Anti-Racism and Equity was established in the Fall of 2017 to assist in implementing and monitoring the progress of the PICRDI recommendations. The Council meetings also serve as a community dialogue forum on issues related to racism, inclusion, and equity at Queen’s.

[Group of students]

Top (l-r): Dev Aransevia, Rosie LaLande (Executive Assistant to the Principal and committee secretary), Tim Tang, Professor Laeeque Daneshmend. Bottom (l-r): Professor Yolande Chan, Nilani Loganathan, Hana Chaudhury.

PICRDI University Response

In 2022, a Queen’s University internal audit team, in partnership with the Principal’s Office and members of the senior leadership team, conducted a final review of the university’s response to the recommendations of the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI) report.

The comprehensive audit, conducted five years after the release of the PICRDI report, found a majority of the recommendations have been fulfilled as suggested. It identifies the progress made in many key areas, including enhanced recruitment and retention of equity-deserving groups, policy development, integrating Indigenization - Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, and Accessibility (I-EDIAA) into strategic planning, diversification of curriculum, and more. The university is grateful to the internal audit team for so thoroughly documenting the university’s response to each recommendation.

Queen’s will continue its efforts to advance I-EDIAA initiatives, which will be guided by the university’s Strategy, the Declaration of Commitment to Address Systemic Racism, and the Scarborough Charter, among other strategic planning documents that will evolve over time in response to the needs of the Queen’s community.

 University Response Memo (108.7 KB)                   

 PICRDI Recommendations (1.2 MB)

Progress Reports

 April 2018: Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Annual Progress Report (6.5 MB)

April 2017: Final Report – Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (4.7 MB)

Queen's Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization Annual Progress Reports can be found here.

Past Reports on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion

Over the past 20 years, several studies have been commissioned to assess various aspects of equity, racism, and diversity at Queen’s. Although these studies resulted in various reports, many of the associated recommendations were not immediately implemented. The mandate of the 2017 Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion was to review the recommendations in the past reports and identify steps needed to remove barriers to implementation.

 DET Action Plan, 2011 (80 KB)

 DARE Report, 2009(188 KB)

 DARE Report: Recommendations Table, 2009 (150 KB)

 Henry Report, 2004 (300 KB)

 PAC Report,1991(1019 KB)

 PAC Recommendations, 1991(246 KB)