Principal declares goals

Daniel Woolf has declared his goals as the University’s principal for the 2013-14 academic year.

Woolf, who published a “Third Juncture: Some Thoughts on the Past, Present and Future of Queen’s University over the Next Decade” in 2012 elaborated on plans for the upcoming academic terms, which included increasing research funding while simultaneously securing financial sustainability.

The report also prioritizes diversifying the school’s streams of revenue in order to place less dependence on per-student government grants.  With heavy reliance on diminishing government grants, the Principal stated in the report that creating revenue from other resources is necessary 

The continuation of the Initiative Campaign is also in progress, according to Woolf’s statement in the report. The campaign began in 2006 and will conclude in 2016. It promotes fundraising for the University and reached $60 million in the past fiscal year. 

In addition to extensive fundraising, student learning experiences are to be strengthened by working to better understand their needs and developing new educational opportunities, the report stated.

More experiential and entrepreneurial educational opportunities are expected in the near future in order to diversify student learning experiences, Woolf said.

— Abby Andrew

Woolf announces partnership

Principal Daniel Woolf announced on Wednesday that Queen’s will become an official academic partner of The Next 36, a national program which provides support to young entrepreneurs.

He announced the partnership with Claudia Hepburn, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Next 36, at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.

This partnership, according to Principal Woolf, affirms the commitment of the university to supporting potential entrepreneurs and providing them with opportunities to gain important skills.

The Next 36 selects 36 undergraduate students and recent graduates, and gathers them to work together on a mobile or tablet application.

Five Queen’s students were part of this year’s Next 36. The Queen’s students at the Next 36 were Gordie Best, Sci ’13, Nicholas Kimchuk, Comm ’13, Joshua Levitan, Sci ’13, Lauren Long, CompSci ’13 and Michael Warshafsky, ArtSci ’15.

The Principal stated that the Queen’s Summer Innovation Initiative is another example of the focus on innovation.

QSII provides paid internships and mentoring to entrepreneurial students while they create their own business.

— Sebastian Leck