Principal and Vice-Chancellor | Queen's University

Queen's is distinguished from all but a handful of other Canadian universities by the fact that its most senior official is a "Principal" not a "President,” reflecting the university’s Scottish heritage and emphasizing the role as an academic among academics. As chief academic and executive officer, the Principal is accountable to the Board of Trustees for the management of the university and to the Senate for the implementation of academic policies. The Principal serves as the link between Queen's two main governing bodies.

The Principal represents the university on external bodies such as the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) and the U15 Group of Canadian Research universities as well as on various international groups. Learn more about the role and past Queen’s Principals in the Queen's Encyclopedia.

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Since becoming Principal and Vice-Chancellor in July 2019, Principal Deane has engaged the university community in a conversation about who we are, how we operate, and more importantly, what Queen's wants to be. These conversations helped establish a new strategy upon which to build Queen's as a university for the future.

In early 2025, Principal Deane published Queen’s Bicentennial Vision: A Discussion Paper—to begin a new campus-wide conversation about how the university can ensure a prosperous and meaningful future as it approaches its 200th year in 2041.

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Queen's Strategy

Impact — making a tangible difference in the lives of others— is our legacy and our shared vision for the future.

Learn more about Queen's mission, vision, values, and goals

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I-EDIAA

We have a responsibility to build a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist community.

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Community Engagement

Queen’s is committed to deepening its integration within the broader community, guided by a vision of building intentional, respectful, and mutually beneficial partnerships.

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Sustainable Development Goals

Through research, teaching, learning, outreach, and stewardship activities, the Queen’s community contributes to various causes in order to advance social impact and the 17 UN SDGs.

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