Thomas Kierans has served at the helm of numerous companies and distinguished organizations. He is currently chair of council and vice president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He serves as a director and vice-chair of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, where he is also co-chair of the research committee of the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute. Among his many corporate directorships, Mr. Kierans has been chaired the boards of a number of organizations, including the...

Peter MacKinnon (LLB ’72) is a former president (1999-2012) and dean of law at the University of Saskatchewan. He was admitted to the Bars of Ontario in 1975, and Saskatchewan in 1979. He has taught on various public law subjects, published articles and commentaries, and is co-editor of a number of books. Mr. MacKinnon served as a bencher of the Law Society of Saskatchewan for ten years and has been a career-long member of the Canadian Bar Association. He has also chaired the Canadian...

Michael M. Koerner is the founder and president of Canada Overseas Investments Limited. He was an early participant in oil sands development with Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd, Sun Oil Company of Canada, and Suncor Energy, where he was active as a director and served as the company’s chair for two years. He has also served as a director at CAE Industries, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Finning International and JP Morgan Canada. Active in the Canadian cultural community, Mr. Koerner is...

Chief Justice Warren K. Winkler serves as chief justice of Ontario and as president of the Court of Appeal of Ontario. A distinguished Canadian labour lawyer and mediator, Chief Justice Winkler spent 14 years as a trial judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, and was a founding partner at Winkler, Filion and Wakeley, a highly respected Toronto law firm. A judicial innovator, Chief Justice Winkler has strived to improve the rehabilitative process of class-action suits, and has heard...

Monday, June 3rd, 2013 at 2:30 pm in the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Guest Speaker Benita Warmbold

Peter Nicholson is a distinguished public servant and renowned problem-solver whose breadth of knowledge and experience have made him a force for change in major Canadian policy discussions. As a senior policy advisor, Dr. Nicholson’s advice has been sought by the highest levels of government and by businesses alike. He served as deputy chief of staff for policy in Prime Minister Paul Martin’s office, as special advisor to the secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation...

Actress Glenn Close’s versatile vocal, theatrical and screen portrayals have earned her Grammy, Tony and Golden Globe awards, along with six Academy Award nominations. A humanitarian with a broad range of interests, Ms. Close has used her voice to gain support for cancer research, ocean protection, world peace, urban poverty, food security and mental health. She is the co-founder of BringChange2Mind, an organization dedicated to eradicating the stigma and discrimination faced by those who...

Wednesday, June 5th, 2013 at 2:30 pm in Grant Hall, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Guest Speaker Carol Campbell

Raymond Bradley is a distinguished scientist, professor and director of the Climate System Research Centre at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Geophysical Union, Dr. Bradley has made outstanding contributions to the studies of climate variability and environmental evolution, and has penned some of the most influential papers on climate change, along with 12 books on paleoclimatology. A...

Chartered accountant Wilfrid Wilkinson is the founding partner of Wilkinson & Company, one of Ontario’s most successful public accounting firms. He is also a Fellow of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants and past president of the Public Accountants Council of Ontario. A lifelong volunteer, Mr. Wilkinson currently serves as chairman of the Rotary Foundation. He has also served in a number of other leadership roles within the humanitarian organization, including as president of...

Thursday, June 6th, 2013 at 2:30 pm in Grant Hall, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Guest Speaker: William Young, former Chair, Queen's Board of Trustees, and current Initiative Campaign Cabinet Member.

President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter are the co-founders of The Carter Center, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to championing human rights and alleviating human suffering. The NGO has led the fight against Guinea worm disease, reducing the number of cases worldwide from 3.5 million in 1986 to 521 as of October 2012. The center has also sent observers to 92 elections in 37 countries in a bid to strengthen democracy, and has taught farming methods that have...

Garry Trudeau is the American cartoonist behind Doonesbury, a comic strip that appears in nearly 1,100 newspapers around the world. Since the cartoon first appeared in 1970, Mr. Trudeau’s work has been collected in over 60 books. In 1975, he became the first comic strip artist to receive a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. He was finalist for the prestigious award again in 1989, 2004, and 2005. He has written and produced for television and stage, including both an animated special...

Jacqueline Maxwell is a prominent figure in the Canadian theatre scene. Born and educated in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Ms Maxwell has worked extensively as a director and dramaturge, and has been instrumental in program creation at many theatre companies since arriving in Canada in 1978. She has worked with the National Arts Centre, Factory Theatre where she served as artistic director from 1986-1994, and the Charlottetown Festival where she served as head of new play development from...

Jeffrey Kofman is a London-based correspondent for ABC News. A graduate of Queen’s University, Mr. Kofman began his television career at Globe Television in 1982 before carrying on to an 11-year career with CBC. During that time he served as a radio host and television anchor. Mr. Kofman then moved to CBS News where he worked as a correspondent, covering stories from Moscow, London and across the U.S. Since joining ABC News in 2001, Mr. Kofman has reported from Cuba, Haiti, Tunisia, Libya,...

Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Chancellor David Dodge at the morning convocation ceremony on Friday, June 15. National Chief Atleo, head of the AFN since July 2009, has received the support from First Nations across Canada in making education a top priority for the AFN. In July 2011 he was a keynote speaker at the Queen’s Conference on Indigenous Issues in Post-Secondary Education.

Izzeldin Abuelaish, MD, MPH, often known and referred to as “the Gaza Doctor”, is a Palestinian medical doctor and infertility specialist who has spent his life working to create peace as a researcher, educator, and leader in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Dr. Abuelaish received his early education in the refugee camp school system in Jabalia, Gaza. He studied medicine in Cairo, Egypt and later obtained a diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology with the Ministry of Health in Saudi...

Mr. Alexander graduated from Queen’s with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1960, after which he attended the London School of Economics and Dalhousie Law School. Mr. Alexander has extensive experience in both government and the private sector. He began his career in 1967 as an associate lawyer at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt and moved to the Ontario provincial government where had a 13- year career. During the negotiation of the Charlottetown Accord, he was Special Adviser to the Right Honourable Joe...