Class Notes

Catch up on classmates, housemates, faculty, and friends.

We Want Your Class Notes

Marking career and personal achievements, special milestones and the birth of future Queen's alumni - Class Notes helps you stay in touch with former classmates, housemates, and faculty.

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  • 1980s

    David W. Barber

    – Mus’80

    Spring 2024

    After more than 40 years working in newspaper and magazine journalism, David has retired from full-time work (though not from freelance writing, editing or music). He began freelancing while still studying music, first for the Queen’s Performing Arts Office and then for the Kingston Whig-Standard. The Whig hired him full-time in 1982, where he had various roles, including night news editor, region editor, acting city editor, and entertainment editor – all while continuing to write news and arts stories and reviews, which earned him a special citation for critical writing from the National Newspaper Awards in 1986. 

    In 1994 he left the Whig and co-owned a bookstore/café in Westport. In 1996, he began working for Toronto’s The Globe and Mail as editor of Broadcast Week magazine, then for the National Post, and finally for the Postmedia newspaper chain as national assistant editor of arts and life. 

    He remains active in music as a singer and composer, and as the author of 16 books about classical music history, literature, and short fiction; his most recent is the mystery novel Hedshot.

  • 1990s

    Kathryn A. Gregory

    – MA’91

    Spring 2024

    Following her graduation from Queen’s, Kathryn Gregory graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School with a law degree and was called to the Bar in Ontario and in New Brunswick in 1996. After practising law for six years in a general practice law office in Fredericton, N.B., she went on to become a Crown prosecutor working in Specialized Prosecutions for New Brunswick Public Prosecution Services from 2003 until 2020. During that time, she was appointed as Queen's Counsel (now King's Counsel) in 2017. In November 2020, Kathryn was appointed a judge of the Court of King's Bench, Trial Division, sitting in Saint John, NB. She has her diploma from Queen's proudly hanging on her office wall.

  • 2000s

    Mark Haines-Lacey

    – MBA’03

    Spring 2024

    Mark, principal and CEO at Atlantic Growth Solutions, launched RevTalent in August 2023, a talent recruitment service focused on filling revenue generating roles (sales and marketing) for clients.

  • JOANNA KIRKE, CLASS NOTE

    1990s

    Joanna Kirke

    – Artsci’97

    Spring 2024

    Joanna is celebrating two milestones this year: She got married to Qayyum Rajan on Sept. 9, 2023, in Collingwood, Ont., surrounded by a close circle of family and friends; and she’s also celebrating 10 years as president of kirkeleadership.com, which delivers virtual training experiences in emotional intelligence, design thinking and change.

  • William David Cowling, Class Notes

    1970s

    William David Cowling

    – Artsci’74, MBA’76

    Spring 2024

    William retired at the end of 2023, after 35 years with the Ontario Public Service. This included five years at the cabinet office, mainly as their manager of planning and development for information technology. During his six years at Queen’s, he was best known for announcing and producing a wide range of CFRC programming, with a year as the classical music director then two years as the FM programming director. After graduating, he worked for 10 years at the head office of C-I-L Inc., Canada’s largest chemical company (formerly Canadian Industries Limited), first in financial planning then introducing automated office systems. Two family members are also Queen’s graduates: his sister, Anne Helena Cowling (Artsci’78) and his daughter, Louisa Rose Cowling (Ed’14).

  • Daryl O'Dowd

    1980s

    Daryl O'Dowd 

    – Artsci’84

    Spring 2024

    Daryl has been appointed private sector trustee for the Weather Modification Association, where he will liaise with Canadian, U.S. and international NGOs engaged in commercial cloud-seeding for the purposes of precipitation enhancement, fog dispersion, and hail suppression in relation to climate change. ³ÉÈË´óÆ¬ his new role, Daryl says: “With climate change a clear and present danger, businesses and governments can't afford to simply hope for the best. Proactive measures are needed, and cloud-seeding can make a measurable difference when applied properly."