Queen’s Senate convened for an emergency meeting on Zoom to address questions related to the University’s operating budget deficit and its impact on academia.
Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion) Stephanie Simpson, and Principal Patrick Deane answered questions submitted by students in a sparsely attended room in Goodes Hall. Topics ranged from housing to supporting international students. Both Simpson and Deane identified the ongoing violence in the Middle East as the most important social issue affecting students on campus.
As controversy takes hold of American campuses following the resignation of Ivy League University Presidents, US congress’ investigation into antisemitism on campus continues. Canadian universities are grappling with a similar call out.
On December 12, the University announced it is examining the possibility of temporarily suspending admissions into the Master of Public Administration (MPA) and the Professional Master of Public Administration (PMPA) programs. Queen’s cited the programs’ cyclical reviews as reporting insufficient structural resources for the program.
Queen’s announced that it projected a $62.8 million operating budget deficit in May. Since then, the projected deficit has fallen $14.8 million to total $48 million as of December, with the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) accounting for a projected $37 million.
In an open letter posted on Nov. 29, PSAC 901—the labour union representing graduate and postdoctoral workers at Queen’s—asked alumnus Stephen Smith to give $500,000 to reopen the union’s exhausted Emergency Food Support Fund.
Between May 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023, a total of 132 reports of non-academic misconduct were processed through the Non-Academic Misconduct Intake Office (NAMIO), in a marked decrease from previous years. The numbers were published as a report at the Dec. 8 Board of Trustees open session meeting.
Provost Matthew Evans and Arts and Science Dean Barbara Crow drew a crowd consisting of Queen’s staff, faculty, and the AMS executive on Dec. 11. The goal of the town hall was to address concerns regarding the projected budget deficit and planned cuts to academic programming.
Queen’s Arts and Science Online (ASO) students find themselves readjusting their virtual education with the closure of admissions to ASO program options.