Donor Recognition

We are privileged to have many wonderful supporters and donors who help enable us to provide world-class services to the teachers, learners and researchers of the Queen’s community.

Mr. Schulich and Principal Woolf examine a rare volumeDistinguished Canadian philanthropist and entrepreneur, Seymour Schulich partnered with Queen’s Principal Daniel Woolf to create the Schulich-Woolf Rare Book Collection at Queen’s University Library. Mr. Schulich also made a $1-million gift to help the library preserve and expand the collection. This collection combines more than 400 volumes from their personal collections, and these treasured works enhance the research, teaching, and learning, both at Queen’s and within our academic community, and are an excellent first step towards building one of the best rare book collections in Canada. 

Dr. and Ms. GarrettOne example is found in Dr. Thomas Garrett (MD ‘71) and Gwendolyn (Wendy) Garrett (MD ‘71), the esteemed donors behind The Helen Garrett Memorial Fund. Tom’s first wife, Helen Garrett, worked in Douglas Library and had a passion for English literature. In 1997, both Tom and Wendy established The Helen Garrett Memorial Fund, which supports the purchase of 17th and 18th Century English Literature and the conservation, restoration and repair of rare materials held in the Special Collections.

The Garretts support this fund on an annual basis, and have made a huge contribution to the library’s special holdings. Most recently, this fund has enabled the addition of beautiful and significant editions of The Seasons by James Thomson (1730), which includes the first full appearance of The Seasons, and was issued by subscription; The Works of Alexander Pope (1717), this edition includes an important early engraved portrait of Pope; and Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man (1733-34), which contains the four separately published Epistles, subsequently issued as a single work. Curator Alvan Bregman is thrilled by these new additions, and looking to the future, he says, “Our goal is now to purchase manuscript commonplace books and literary miscellanies as well as important printed editions.”

Cheryl McWatters headshotAnother wonderful example, amongst many, of donor support for learning and research is Dr. Cheryl S. McWatters, BA(H)’77, MBA’88, PhD’91 (Management) and her husband, John MacDiarmid, BSc’78 (Chemical Engineering), MSc’87 (Metallurgical Engineering). Their generosity enabled the establishment of the Geraldine Grace and Maurice Alvin McWatters Visiting Fellowship, named for Dr. McWatters’ parents. The fellowship, awarded on an annual basis, is designed to foster, promote, and support original archival research by scholars, authors, or artists in the collections located at Queen’s University Archives. In 2013-14, it supported the work of Dr. James Beach, from the University of North-Hampton, in England, who was researching the life of Professor James Roy, who later became a member of the Department of English at Queen’s, following his time in the British Military Intelligence during World War One.

There are plenty of ongoing opportunities for donors to support our strategic initiatives with the exciting plans coming forward through the Library and Archives Master Plan.

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