A Queen’s University alumnus has made a huge financial contribution to his alma mater.
Bruce Mitchell has donated $30M towards the goal of increasing research intensity and supporting graduate student recruitment.
According to Queen’s, Mitchell is a business leader and philanthropist who is making the donation to bolster research capacity to “advance groundbreaking discoveries that will deepen our knowledge of people, the planet, and the universe.”
“The Queen’s community is grateful for Bruce’s generosity and his commitment to research,” Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane said. “This generous gift provides us with the resources to help achieve our bold research goals in part, through the support of top researchers.
“With these additional funds, we are realizing our aspirations to become a world leader, bringing scholars and innovators together to make improvements across our many fields of study.”
Nine existing faculty members will receive funds to further build their research programs and teams and nine more new faculty members will be hired to support research intensity in strategic research areas
In addition, Queen’s will recruit 54 postdoctoral fellows, and will increase the size of its graduate student body and enhance the university’s competitiveness in attracting a diverse global pool of graduate scholars, through financial support for an estimated 79 graduate students.
“The best way to invest in research is to invest in people and create the optimal conditions for them to thrive,” Vice-Principal (Research) Nancy Ross said “This gift allows us to focus on attracting and retaining the best faculty and graduate students.
“We hope to recruit rising stars and nurture them, setting up research environments where researchers are supported and able to progress.”