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Queen’s announced today a realignment of the School of Policy Studies (SPS), effective July 1, and the establishment of a new Policy Council to champion the enrichment of the school’s programs.

The changes will see the SPS director report to David Saunders, Dean of the Queen’s School of Business (QSB), while the Master of Industrial Relations (MIR) program will become part of the Faculty of Arts and Science. The SPS will remain a separate academic unit, and a separate budget unit within the Queen’s budget model.

“The SPS has a long history of preparing students for challenging careers in public service; this realignment is the first step in ensuring its programs keep pace with the evolving needs of the public sector,” says Daniel Woolf, Principal and Vice-Chancellor. “With more than a dozen other universities offering public administration programs, we must ensure that the SPS is able to maintain a leading position, consistent with Queen’s century-old reputation as a training ground for the nation’s policy makers.”

The realignment comes after an external review of the school identified ways in which its existing strengths could be enhanced by aligning SPS with a professional faculty like QSB.

In addition, a new Policy Council will be established to make recommendations around the enrichment of the school’s programs and broadening its collaborations with other faculties. The council will be chaired by the provost and will include deans from faculties where there is a policy interest and expertise, the director of the SPS, as well as external experts.

“The continued success of the SPS depends on both the excellence of its programs and its financial sustainability,” says Alan Harrison, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). “This change in reporting structure and the creation of the Policy Council are first steps in the process of working together to ensure the future success of the school.”

Kim Nossal, Director of the School of Policy Studies and Stauffer-Dunning Chair of Policy Studies, says the change will help the school work more closely with other units.

“The SPS has always been a leading centre for advanced education, research, debate and interaction with the public service,” says Dr. Nossal. “I look forward to working with the new Policy Council, Dean Saunders and others from across the university so that we can continue that tradition. The new structure will allow us to enrich the student learning experience by tapping policy expertise across faculties, and to secure the future financial sustainability of the school.”

While the Industrial Relations Centre will move with the MIR program to the Faculty of Arts and Science, the other research units – including the Centre for International and Defence Policy, the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, and the Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy – will remain within the school.