Two honourary degrees awarded in Fall convocation

At Fall convocation, Queen’s presented Sylvia Maracle (Skonaganleh:ra) and Reeta Roy with honourary degrees. 

Maracle is the executive director of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres and has been involved with the group for more than 45 years. An Order of Canada appointee, Maracle has championed issues surrounding justice, health, employment, housing, and women’s issues for urban Indigenous peoples.

A Mohawk and member of the Wolf Clan, Maracle is from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory west of Kingston.

Roy is the president and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation. She’s focused the organization’s efforts on its work in Africa, pledging more than US $2.1 billion to education and financial inclusion. Roy has acted as a representative of the philanthropic sector at the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international organizations. 

Maracle was be honoured at the second convocation ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Roy received her honours at the fifth ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 15.

—Iain Sherriff-Scott

Ground broken on new building in Williamsville

Builders will break ground this month on a 10-story, 325-unit residential development at 652 Princess St., the City announced in a Nov. 9 press release. 

The mixed-use building will have 680 square meters of ground floor commercial space and space for an outdoor patio. 

City council approved IN8 Developments’ request to develop the lot on the south side of Princess Street, between Victoria Street and Nelson Street, on July 10. The Carnovsky Bakery heritage building will also be restored during the development.  

The project’s timeline anticipates residency by Fall 2020.

—Michelle Allan

University research fund open for applications

On Nov. 13, the Queen’s Research Opportunities Fund (QROF) competition began accepting applications from members of the Queen’s community.

According to a University statement, the fund “offers opportunities to leverage external funding to build on areas of institutional research strength.”

QROF is made up of four different funds spanning several academic disciplines. 

The Research Leaders’ Fund supports the University’s research strengths and priorities. The International Fund is meant to increase the University’s global engagement. The Arts Fund supports artists at Queen’s and their scholarly contributions to the community. The Post-Doctoral Fund aims to attract post-doctoral fellows to the university.

“The QROF represents our most significant internal investment in supporting research excellence at Queen’s,” Kimberly Woodhouse, interim vice-principal (research), said in a statement.

The Research Leaders’ and International funds will be accepting applications until Dec. 15. Applications for the Arts Fund will be accepted until March 1 and applications for the Post-Doctoral Fund will be accepted until Jan. 30. 

—Iain Sherriff-Scott