This story was updated on March 19 at 12:47 p.m.
Geopolitical statements and financial change took centre at the University’s first Board of Trustees meeting of the calendar year.
The Board of Trustees met on March 7 at 4:30 p.m. for a public session, followed by a closed session on March 8 for the Board’s only. Board Chair David Court, Comm ’79, began the meeting by recognizing the following day, March 8, as International Women’s Day. He said the Board is full of “strong women” and reiterated Queen’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Student leaders reports
April 30, and with the Board not convening again until May, AMS President Owen Rocchi delivered his final speech to Board , reflecting on his team’s accomplishments. He spoke to the Board about the Queen’s Backing Action on the Climate Crisis, where Rocchi stood behind the club’s petition encouraging the University to divest from fossil fuels.
READ MORE: QBACC’s petition gains AMS backing in fight for fossil fuel divestment
Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) President Emils Matiss also delivered his final speech to the Board. He emphasized food insecurity as a pressing issue for graduate students, highlighting how the SGPS provided 1,060 meals over the past year. Matiss also raised concerns about the JDUC, including the significantly delayed move-in, which still lacks a finalized date.
READ MORE: AMS and SGPS voice frustration over JDUC delays
Chancellor Shelagh Rogers responded, thanking the student leaders for their commitment to the University but didn’t directly address their concerns.
Political statements from at large
In accordance with section three, paragraph 11 of the Board of Trustees bylaws, which allows any member of the public to request to make a statement to the Board, two verbal delegations were made.
Ariel Salzmann and Adnan Husain, both associate professors in the Department of History, addressed the Trustees for approximately 10 minutes each about the conflict in Gaza.
Salzmann began by speaking about the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stating the University’s response was inadequate. She believes the University was quick to mourn the death of Israelis but didn’t do the same when it came to the death of Palestinians, adding Queen’s must “divest from genocide.”
She criticized the istration for failing to acknowledge the scope of civilian casualties in Gaza, referenced statements from international legal experts who have categorized the situation a “textbook case of genocide.” Salzmann further emphasized the need for Queen’s to recognize and address anti-Palestinian racism within institutional responses to the crisis.
Husain stated Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, a Palestinian activist group, asked him to address the Board, believing faculty voices would carry more weight than students themselves.
He spoke about what he described as a culture of silence around Palestinian advocacy, noting students who advocate for Palestinian rights are often labeled as extremists and subjected to heightened scrutiny.
“When they [Palestinians] and their allies advocate for their rights and freedoms, they are targeted as the problem themselves,” Husain said.
Referencing a report from the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association detailing systemic discrimination against pro-Palestinian voices, Husain urged the University to take these concerns seriously. He also highlighted concerns about academic freedom, arguing that faculty and students who seek to discuss the conflict through an international legal lens face institutional barriers.
While not directly addressing the concerns brought up by the speakers, Court asked the Trustees to reflect on whether Boards and Senates in the United States would allow such speeches to take place, urging them to be proud of Queen’s as an institution.
Tuition and residence fees
To address the University’s projected $35.7 million operating deficit, two motions were proposed to approve increases in tuition fees for out-of-province students and residents.
The first motion, Tuition Fee Report 2025-26, proposed by the Board’s Finance, Assets, and Strategic Infrastructure Committee Chair Sheila Murray, recommended a five per cent tuition increase for out-of-province direct-entry undergraduates, along with changes to domestic, international, and Bader College tuition fees.
This motion marked the fourth consecutive five per cent increase in out-of-province tuition, with similar motions being ed for the three past academic years.
READ MORE: Queen’s hikes tuition for out-of-province students for a second year in a row
According to Murray, domestic fees weren’t increased due to fixed domestic tuition by the Government of Ontario.
“The government really forces our hand on tuition fees. The only flexibility we have is to raise out-of-province student tuition fees, and even that’s limited,” Murray explained.
Also proposed by Murray, the second motion, Residence Fees 2025 26, proposed a 3.78 per cent increase in total residence fees for the 2025-26 academic year. Under this motion, standard single and single-plus residences will see a four per cent increase in fees come September, while double, triple, quad, loft double, and upper-year single rooms will increase by 3.25 per cent. Currently, a single standard room costs $17,307. With the increase, these fees will raise to $17,999.
No discussion followed either motion and both were carried with a majority in favour.
The Board of Trustees meet next on May 9 and 10.
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Claire
Adnan Husain’s speaking topic was anti-Palestinian racism on campus, which is a huge issue recently. I feel like that’s a pretty important thing to mention.