Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane hosted local organizers, businesses, politicians, and other stakeholders from across Kingston recently at the 2019 Principal’s Community Breakfast for a discussion on how Queen’s University and the community can work together to build a strong future for Kingston and the surrounding area.
“Since arriving to Queen’s this summer, I’ve sought to start an ongoing conversation with the campus and Kingston communities about the future of our institution and what it should aspire to and aim to achieve,” says Principal Deane. “I admire our university and our city, and am very optimistic about the future of us all. I want to hear from our stakeholders inside and outside the university and I am grateful for your ongoing contributions to this conversation. I look forward to working together to chart a new direction for our institution and our future.”
Following Principal Deane’s opening remarks, he fielded questions and comments from guests on a wide variety of topics, including the university’s environmental sustainability efforts, opportunities to grow Kingston as a place of innovation, and the responsibility of post-secondary institutions in addressing misinformation in a “post-truth” era – a subject Principal Deane broached in-depth during his installation speech.
During the discussion, Principal Deane also highlighted a number of community-focused initiatives working to strengthen the university’s local contributions, singling out the Promise Scholars and Queen’s Career Apprenticeship: Kingston programs; two of many Queen’s-led efforts designed to boost both education and employment opportunities in the city and region.
“I have a long-standing interest in universities as agents of social change and enrichment,” says Principal Deane. “Institutions like ours are huge repositories of human talent, and I regard it as a primary obligation to turn that human talent to the benefit of the communities that surround them.”
He also gave a nod to the university’s collaborations with local healthcare partners and about plans for increased cooperation between Queen’s and its post-secondary peer institutions in the area, and spoke on new efforts with the City of Kingston and Kingston Police to delve deeper into concerns about unsanctioned activities relating to annual student events.
The Principal’s Breakfast is the most recent of a number of conversation events that will continue into Spring 2020, after which Principal Deane will report to the Queen’s and Kingston communities on his findings.
Learn more about upcoming Join The Conversation events and other ways you can share your perspective.
Originally published in Queen's Gazette