Queen鈥檚 is about encouraging excellence. Both inside the classroom and out.
Paul Hand, BA'69 and MBA'73, certainly achieved it in the classroom, but he also pursued it on the football field as a member of the Gaels between 1969 and 1973. "Everyone has those people they remember from university," he says. "Mine were in the football program."
Hand, a managing director at RBC Capital Markets, has donated handsomely to Queen's School of Business (where his father served as Dean, before ultimately becoming Vice-Principal of Queen鈥檚) but he says that supporting Queen鈥檚 football is "a bit of a passion for me and Vicki, BA/BPHE'73."
Since 2006, their passion has drawn them to serve as Co-chairs of the Fields and Stadium Campaign Cabinet, whose goal is to make sure all outdoor sports, not just football, have up-to-date, modern facilities. Under the leadership of the Hands and through the generosity of many benefactors, two new fields have been constructed at Queen鈥檚, in addition to Tindall Field, to support outdoor athletic and recreational activities.
These first-rate athletic facilities are helping today's students pursue athletic excellence. Their ultimate goal: a new venue for football to replace Richardson Stadium, the "temporary" structure now more than 40 years old and showing its age. It will be an appropriate home for a team that, says Paul, "has been competitive year after year, even given Queen鈥檚 high academic standards."
The total stadium campaign is $25 million and they are searching for a lead donor.
"Paul and I believe in giving back," says Vicki. "Just give according to your ability; every donation is appreciated. If people harken back to their student days, they were the beneficiaries of the students before them. Today's grads have the same opportunity to help."
