A message from the Dean

Dean’s Message

Gratitude. Inspiration. Energy.

hese words express just some of the feelings we have as T we wrap up our Inspiring Greatness campaign, an integral part of the Initiative Campaign for Queen’s University. On behalf of the Faculty, I’d like to thank our incredible donors and volunteers who helped us surpass our goal and reach over $90.3 million in investment in Engineering at Queen’s. I would like to give you a snapshot of how your contributions are positioning the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science to adapt and thrive in our changing world. We’re grateful for the outpouring of generosity and support from alumni, parents, friends and corporations who have embraced our vision of innovation and leadership and who understand the value of our Queen’s-unique approach to creating the next generation of extraordinary engineers. You truly are both our history and our future.

Your investment is helping to ensure that initiatives such as the Queen’s Innovation Connector, founded through a collaboration between Queen’s Engineering and the Smith School of Business, can continue to grow as an innovation hub for students, researchers and entrepreneurs. Gifts to the Aboriginal Access to Engineering program are helping our Aboriginal youth see and achieve post-secondary education and are supporting them throughout their university experience.

Our donors’ confidence and investment in our faculty members has tripled the number of endowed and expendable chairs and professorships in Engineering! The new Hazell Research Professorship in Chemical Design and Innovation, the Donald and Joan McGeachy Chair in Biomedical Engineering, the Donald and Sarah Munro Chair, and the Kinross Professorship in Mining Health and Safety have inspired a new generation of graduate students and their enhanced scholarship. Investments have also led to the formation of the Water Research Centre, the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining and the ability to hire 14 new faculty members over the last five years. These new additions bring an energy and enthusiasm that has set the Faculty on fire.

We’re inspired by our donors’ dedication to discovery. Your contributions to Queen’s competitive design teams, such as the Baja SAE Team and the Formula SAE Team, along with student outreach efforts, such as Science Quest summer camp, FIRST Robotics and Queen’s Engineers Without “Our planned Innovation

Commons is considered a transformational leap

”toward the future of engineering.

Borders, make it clear that you want our students (and future students) to experience the world as they learn, and to translate their knowledge through opportunities and experiences that prepare them for the real world.

Thanks to our donors, we have seen a 50 per cent increase in student bursaries, scholarships and awards during the campaign period. Support for the Dean’s Excellence Fund has enabled the distribution of critical funding to projects, awards, student activities, teams and clubs. The generosity of all those who have given both time and money contributes directly to the education of outstanding engineers through experiential learning opportunities that challenge their assumptions and nurture team skills.

We have a renewed level of energy. The success of the campaign gives us the momentum required to move forward with our new dedicated interdisciplinary teaching and research space within the former physical education centre across the street from Beamish-Munro Hall. It will house innovative new undergraduate facilities, research laboratories and design studios to bring together professors, undergraduates and graduate students from a number of Faculties to collaborate in a dynamic and academic social environment.

This is a game changer for our faculty and our students. Interdisciplinary spaces offer so much more than physical labs and equipment—they are where the seeds of discovery are nurtured, where new perspectives are created and honed.

Donors have also recognized the importance of place to students by giving directly to major renovations in the historic buildings of the Faculty. Renovations to the first floor of McLaughlin Hall have revitalized the space for experiential learning ,and the Jeffery Hall “Apple Lounge” is a hub of student activity.

Our Fall/Winter issue will feature stories about the generosity of our donors and how philanthropy is making a difference in the Faculty. In the meantime, as we move forward on the new interdisciplinary facility, I want to offer a personal note of thanks to all those who gave so generously.

Thank you for your leadership and your confidence in our vision. Thank you for inspiring all of us to reach further for our students. Thank you for inspiring our students by your example. And thank you for infusing our campaign with spirit and drive.

I would like to extend a special thank-you to Michael Norris, our campaign chair, and to our campaign cabinet for their passion and commitment to the Faculty. They could have chosen to put their time, energy and, frankly, money elsewhere. That they did not, and that they took the time to support and guide “the McGill grad” through a campaign that had many twists and turns, speaks of a commitment to their alma mater that is rare. It has been a privilege to work with them.

Kimberly A. Woodhouse PhD, PEng, FCAE, FBSE Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science