Queen’s hosted its first in-person Homecoming since 2019 recently. Over 2,500 alumni and their guests returned to campus the weekend of October 28 – 30 for tours, breakfasts, dinners, parties, open houses, and more.
That included hundreds of Engineering alumni from 18 classes. Most of them arrived that last weekend of October, but a few other classes had reunion weekends in May and earlier in October.
Given the pandemic delays, Homecoming 2022 was an especially memorable one for reconnection. Here are a few highlights from the Engineering festivities.
Dean’s Pancake Breakfast
It wouldn’t be a homecoming without a pancake breakfast, and the one hosted by Dean Kevin Deluzio at Mitchell Hall didn’t disappoint.
Over 350 Engineering alumni attended the buffet-style breakfast on the morning of the 29th. Classes were able to meet their student award recipients, as well as nine student teams they fund. Heads and reps from every Engineering department were also in attendance.
Dean Deluzio made a speech at the breakfast, thanking alumni for returning to campus and their continued support. Later, the Faculty played a video featuring students thanking their specific class backers. Over the past 18 months, 18 alumni classes have raised over $2 million for student scholarships, awards, and bursaries.
Open Houses
During the pancake breakfast, alumni were welcome to take self-guided tours of Mitchell Hall. Opened in 2018 on the former footprint of the PEC and Jock Harty Arena, the state-of-the-art facility is a hub for engineering at Queen’s.
The tours continued after pancakes, as student volunteers took alumni groups to open houses of their respective departments. It was a great chance for alumni to see what’s changed since they were students or last visited.
Six departments participated in the open houses: Chemical Engineering (Dupuis Hall), Civil Engineering (Ellis Hall), Mechanical and Materials Engineering (McLaughlin Hall), Mining Engineering (Goodwin Hall), Engineering Physics (Stirling Hall), and Mathematics and Engineering (Jeffery Hall).
Millionaires’ Club Inductees
Three more classes were induced into the Millionaires’ Club this homecoming: Sc’57, Sc’65, and Sc’72. These are groups that have raised over $1 million for their class funds. They join five other classes of this illustrious club: Sc’48 ½, Sc’51, Sc’57, Sc’59, and Sc’68.
There is now a total of 76 Engineering class funds at Queen’s, each of which support student scholarships, bursaries, and awards.
Other Highlights
