Dear Queen’s Community,
As we enter the holiday season, I am writing to thank all of you for your commitment to keeping our university on track during what has been another very challenging year. While I must admit that I will not be sorry to see this year come to an end, I do take pride in what we have accomplished together and am excited to think about the opportunities that lie ahead. Sadly, though, we still find ourselves in a global pandemic and are once again uncertain about what will be possible in the immediate future. So we are preparing for a start to the winter term that will be very different from what we had hoped for. As always we are guided by the advice of our public health experts, and while we are encouraged to anticipate a time when COVID-19 will no longer be such a practical challenge in our daily lives, I am sure you will agree it can sometimes feel like we are moving backward rather than forward.
If I can’t promise a new year free from COVID-19, I can promise that we will continue to work every day to do what is in the best interest of our community and our institution. When the pandemic began, I made a commitment to all of you to keep our university healthy and vibrant, our students, staff and faculty engaged and supported, and our institution whole and intact as in the days before the crisis began. I realize now that we will be forever changed by COVID-19 and that what may be most important to our future will be to recognize the lasting impact of the pandemic on all of us. I do believe it has made us stronger, more resilient and with that, more creative and innovative. It has also exhausted us and we have all been personally affected. I hope that over the university break you will get a little time to simply rest and recharge with your friends and family. Be safe and stay well. I wish you all happy holidays and a happy new year!
Patrick Deane Principal and Vice-Chancellor