Patrick Deane officially installed as the principal and vice-chancellor of Queen’s

Former principal Daniel Woolf recognized with honorary Doctor of Laws degree

Image by: Tessa Warburton
Former principal Daniel Woolf and Principal Patrick Deane attended the ceremony together on Nov. 12. 

When Patrick Deane was officially installed as Principal and Vice-Chancellor through a special convocation on Tuesday, former Principal Daniel Woolf was also recognized with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. 

Held at Grant Hall, the purpose of the ceremony was to officially bestow upon Deane the rights and privileges that come with the role of principal and vice-chancellor.

Don Raymond, chair of Queen’s Board of Trustees, presented Deane to the audience. The new principal made the pledge of his office to be fully installed as the University’s 21st principal and vice-chancellor.

“I declare you, Patrick Deane, to be truly installed as principal and vice-chancellor of Queen’s University,” Raymond announced on stage.

“This is the symbolic moment when it becomes official,” Deane told The Journal in an interview before the installation.

He said it’s a great honour to be a principal at an institution, but particularly at Queen’s. “I enjoyed very much working here before, and Queen’s is an exciting place that I want to serve.”

Deane also talked about his current priorities for the University.

A year ago, when he was announced as the choice for Queen’s next principal, Deane said his priorities included increasing Queen’s research capacity, broadening the student experience by connecting with the community, and improving diversity on campus.

After five months on the job, Deane said these are issues the University is still tackling.

“I’m excited about what it means for the student experience, because the community is an important resource for the University. It’s also an important place where students go to work and learn, so building community engagement in a way that supports undergraduate and graduate learning is a great opportunity here,” he said.

Regarding research, Deane said it still remains a challenge at Queen’s.

“We have a long, proud history of being a great undergraduate education and institution, our research history is a more recent thing, and I think we’re still in the process of building our research capacity.”

He added Queen’s is currently in partnership with other institutions and organizations to strengthen research on campus.

Addressing the question of diversity, Deane said there is still much more to be done in the areas of equity and inclusion, especially regarding recent events at Chown Hall.

“Racism and hatred is everywhere else in the community outside of the University and it will, at times, intrude into our lives,” he said.

“We have to make very clear that the culture in this University doesn’t tolerate that kind of thing, and we need to work as a community to prevent those kinds of acts and make sure everybody feels fully supported in the University.”

Tags

Daniel Woolf, honorary degree, installation, Patrick Deane, Principal

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