Fonds F1499 - Queen's University. Office of the Principal fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Queen's University. Office of the Principal fonds

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Level of description

Fonds

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Edition statement

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1837-1997 (Creation)
    Creator
    Queen's University. Office of the Principal

Physical description area

Physical description

91 m of textual records, 50 photographs : col. negatives ; 35 mm

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1841-)

Administrative history

Queen's is distinguished from all but a handful of other Canadian universities by the fact that its most powerful official is a "Principal," not a "President." This reflects the University's Scottish heritage: the University's founders chose this more modest title, which emphasizes the Principal's role as an academic among academics, in imitation of Edinburgh University, their model for Queen's. At first, the Principal of Queen's had to be a Presbyterian minister and always held the concurrent position of Primarius Professor of Theology; that requirement formally ended in 1912, when Queen's separated from the Presbyterian Church. Still, the old tradition proved persistent; the string of Principals who were ministers was not broken until 1929. Since then the office has been held by a geologist, a classicist, two political scientists, three economists and a biologist.

Throughout, as chief academic and executive officer, the Principal has remained the University's most important official. The Principal is accountable to the Board of Trustees for the management of the University (for administration, budget, and staffing, for example), and to the Senate for the implementation of academic policies. The Principal chairs the Senate and serves as the link between Queen's two principal governing bodies. The administrative responsibilities that accompany the office are considerable: the Principal is responsible for setting the overall budget allocations for each faculty and school, in consultation with the Vice-Principals and the Deans; the Principal as well must approve every academic appointment, promotion, or award of tenure or leave, after receiving recommendations from the Vice-Principal (Academic) and relevant dean and department head.

The Principal also plays a major role in policy-making by formulating proposals for the academic and physical development of the University for consideration by the Board and the Senate. An important role in formulating policies is also played by advisory committees under the Principal's authority. In recent years these have included the committees advising on the status of women, gender issues, race relations, alcohol awareness, disabilities, resource issues and corporate involvement. The Principal, or his delegate, is a member of most Board and Senate committees, and the Principal chairs, the Senate Agenda Committee, and the Senate Committee on Honorary Degrees, as well as the Executive Committee of the University Council and all committees to select Vice-Principals and Deans. The Principal is also responsible for representing the university on such external bodies as the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).

Since 1974, Principals have been appointed for five-year terms, renewable subject to review. The formal authority for the appointment of the Principal rests under the Royal Charter with the Board of Trustees. Recent Principals have been selected by a joint committee of Trustees and Senators including , faculty, students, alumni, trustees and staff. There has been some confusion about the official numbering of Queen's Principals because the University was led by an acting principal for four years in the 1850s. The current convention is to include that Acting Principal in the official count.

Principals since 1841:
The Rev Thomas Liddell (1841-1846)
The Rev John Machar (1846-1853)
The Rev James George (acting Principal 1853-1857)
The Rev John Cook (1857-1859)
The Rev William Leitch (1859-1864)
The Rev William Snodgrass (1864-1877)
The Rev George Monro Grant (1877-1902)
The Rev Daniel Miner Gordon (1902-1916)
The Rev Robert Bruce Taylor (1917-1929)
Sir William Hamilton Fyfe (1930-1936)
Robert Charles Wallace (1936-1951)
William Archibald Mackintosh (1951-1961)
James Alexander Corry (1961-1968)
John James Deutsch (1968-1974)
Ronald Lampman Watts (1974-1984)
David Chadwick Smith (1984-1994)
William Claude Leggett (1994-2004)
Karen R. Hitchcock (2004-2008)
Thomas R. Williams (2008-2009)
Daniel Robert Woolf (2009 to present)

Custodial history

Scope and content

Fonds consists of office files, including correspondence ("Greens" and "Blues"); subject files; reports; appointment books; Annual Reports of the Principal (1910-1968); meeting and committee records; notes and slides for visit to Asia (November 1997); a VHS copy of the Welcome Ceremony Address to the Class of 2006, by Tom Cavanagh (2 September 2002), plus footage of the 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. news coverage by local Kingston television station CKWS. Web archives for the Office of the Principal have also been captured, and are available for viewing through the Archive-It link.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Transfer by Office of the Principal

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Location of originals

1001.26
1001.27
1001.31
1001.35
1006
1128
1161.20
1161.21
1161.22
1161.23
1161.24
1161.25
1161.26
1241
1243
1244
1245
1249.5
1250
1251
1252
1252.1
1254
1254.2
1254.3
1263
1272
1278
1278.1
1294.5
3639.2
V101.24 SE
MI 217
Queen's Printed Collection
Offsite

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

University records are subject to the Province of Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). University records form either some, or all, of this fonds. Therefore, any personal information contained in the records may be subject to certain access restrictions and/or conditions under the Act. Please speak with an archivist for more information.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Copyright provisions may apply. Please consult with an archivist.

Associated materials

Accruals

Further accruals are expected

General note

Partial

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Status

Revised

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Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Description created on 1999/08/27. Last updated 04/07/2017.
Archivist(s): Paul Banfield, Gillian Barlow

Language of description

  • English

Script of description

Sources

Accession area

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Location (use this to request the file)

  • Shelf: 1001.26
  • Shelf: 1001.27
  • Shelf: 1001.31
  • Shelf: 1001.35
  • Shelf: 1006
  • Shelf: 1161.20
  • Shelf: 1161.21
  • Shelf: 1161.22
  • Shelf: 1161.23
  • Shelf: 1161.24
  • Shelf: 1161.25
  • Shelf: 1161.26
  • Shelf: 1241
  • Shelf: 1244
  • Shelf: 1245
  • Shelf: 1249.5
  • Shelf: 1250
  • Shelf: 1251
  • Shelf: 1252
  • Shelf: 1254
  • Shelf: 1254.3
  • Shelf: 1263
  • Shelf: 1272
  • Shelf: 1278
  • Shelf: 1278.1
  • Shelf: 1294.5
  • Shelf: 3639.2
  • Shelf: V101.24 SE
  • Shelf: MI 217
  • Shelf: Queen's Printed Collection
  • Shelf: 1128
  • Shelf: 1252.1
  • Shelf: 1254.2
  • Shelf: Offsite