Honouring years of service

Honouring years of service

May 12, 2014

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By Andrew Stokes, Communications Officer


The university will host a celebration on Tuesday for 167 faculty and staff members who have worked at Queen鈥檚 for 25, 30, 35, 40 or 45 years.

鈥淥ur longstanding employees, both faculty and staff, are a great asset to the Queen鈥檚 community,鈥 says Principal Daniel Woolf. 鈥淭hey are not only the keepers of valuable institutional knowledge, they also possess the kind of wisdom that comes from having worked in their respective fields for some time. We are very fortunate to have such experience in our midst.鈥

Dr. Peter Taylor has worked at Queen's for 45 years. He's sitting on a bench dedicated to Queen's staff. (University Communications)

Four Queen鈥檚 employees will receive recognition for their 45 years of service. The university will present Susan Barsby, John Hartwick, Charles Pentland and Peter Taylor with a handcrafted golden pin bearing the Queen鈥檚 crest.

Hired by Queen鈥檚 immediately after completing his PhD at Harvard, Dr. Taylor has enjoyed a wide-ranging career, opting to switch his research focus after 15 years on the job. From being a mathematician, Dr. Taylor transitioned into work as a mathematical biologist, an interdisciplinary field with many applications in medicine. He was excited about the switch, saying he loves, 鈥渟eeing the way mathematics links with the natural world. There鈥檚 so much math everywhere in everything we do.鈥

Dr. Taylor says Kingston鈥檚 quality of life has kept him from seeking opportunities further afield. 鈥淜ingston is a hell of a place to live. I don鈥檛 know why I鈥檇 want to live anywhere else.鈥

Dr. Hartwick (Economics) says his students have kept him engaged over the decades.

鈥淏eing surrounded by young people is one of the great things about working at a university,鈥 he says. 鈥淵ear after year you get new faces, new enthusiasms, and new approaches to investigating economic issues.鈥

Dr. Hartwick joined Queen鈥檚 right after finishing his PhD at Johns Hopkins. He jokes that he has been 鈥渟logging forward through research projects with continually renewed enthusiasm ever since.鈥

The two other 45-year honorees are Ms. Barsby, Senior Monographs Assistant at Stauffer Library, and Dr. Pentland, a professor in the Department of Political Studies.

Visit the to view a complete list of employees who will be honoured at this year鈥檚 Celebration of Service dinner on Tuesday, May 13.