They may live halfway across the country, but Queen’s Law grads in Canada’s most populous prairie province remain involved with their alma mater. On November 8, they gathered at the Stikeman Elliott LLP office in downtown Calgary to re-connect and celebrate at the fall reception hosted by Gary Clarke, Law’93, a partner with the firm. 

“With over 40 Queen’s Law alumni within our firm across Canada, it was an easy decision for us to host this year,” says Clarke. “While always a treat to hear from Dean Bill Flanagan, the added bonus of having Vice-Principal (Advancement) Tom Harris join us to fill us in on developments more broadly was very interesting.”  

VP Harris, who gets to know many Queen’s alumni in his role, expressed the university’s appreciation to the Queen’s Law Alberta Alumni Council and to all law grads in the western province. “I am especially impressed by those who make a point of building connections with their fellow alumni, and also by those who make it their mission to build not only their own community, but the Queen’s community as well. The members of this group do all this and more.”

Acknowledging the “incredible work” done by grads during the Alberta Council’s first five years, he spoke of how their support, vision and philanthropic efforts continue to have an impact.

“Queen’s Law remains one of the most highly regarded law schools in the country,” he stated, pointing out how this is evident in the rankings, in the calibre of scholars drawn to Queen’s, and in both the number and the quality of the students the school attracts.

“This is in no small part due to your efforts,” he told the audience. “With the resources of the Allgood Professorship, an initiative that you played a critical role in, we were able to attract Dr. Mohammed Khimji, one of the world’s pre-eminent business law scholars. And the Alberta Scholar at Queen’s Law Scholarship, which you generously continue to fund, makes a Queen’s Law education available to a gifted student from Alberta each year.

“You have a lot to be proud of – as volunteers, as Law alumni, and also as Queen’s alumni,” he continued. “This is a great time for Queen’s.”

Dean Flanagan then outlined some of the latest developments at Queen’s Law, including the Queen’s Law at 60 Homecoming Weekend on September 8–9, the launch of the QL60 bursary campaign to raise $600,000 in eight months to support students with financial need, the highly popular undergraduate Certificate in Law program, and the Faculty’s Indigenous Art Project as part of its response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 

“It is reassuring to hear that Queen’s is thriving in part due to its passionate alumni,” says Gary Clarke. “I have my 25th anniversary reunion coming up in 2018 and can hardly wait to see the changes firsthand!”

By Lisa Graham