This Monday, Shelagh Rogers, ArtSci ’77, was officially welcomed as Chancellor.
Rogers was installed as Queen’s 16th Chancellor in Grant Hall on Nov. 11, opening fall term convocations with School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs and Faculty of Health Sciences graduates crossing the stage. The Queen’s alumna was announced as Chancellor on April 26 and officially began her three-year term on July 1. The Chancellor presides over convocations, confers degrees, and chairs the University Council’s annual meetings.
Rogers, the Chancellor of the University of Victoria from 2015 to 2021, is an award-winning broadcast journalist and a host for several CBC radio shows, including This Morning and The Next Chapter. She received the Order of Canada in 2011 for her work promoting Canadian culture, advocacy in mental health, truth and reconciliation, and adult literacy, the CBC reports.
Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane opened the convocation and installation ceremony by addressing the graduates and inviting Duncan Hunter, vice chair of the University Senate, to formally present Rogers for installation as the 16th Chancellor. Following a declaration of fidelity and being adorned in the robes of the office, Rogers began her address with an acknowledgement and dedication to the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee land we reside on.
“As someone who resides in Treaty One territory and the homeland of the Métis nation, where my father and my aunt’s people are from, I am grateful to be a visitor to these lands, and I thank the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinaabe Peoples for their welcome,” Rogers said in her speech.
Rogers described her installation as Chancellor as a profound honour, especially following the ing of the Honourable Murray Sinclair. She succeeds Chancellor Emeritus Sinclair, who stepped down in June. Sinclair, LLD ’19—Anishinaabe leader, former senator, and esteemed lawyer from Manitoba—ed away on Nov. 4 after a period
of illness.
READ MORE: Queen’s re Chancellor Emeritus Murray Sinclair
In an interview with The Journal, Rogers expanded on her experience at convocation and what it meant to her.
“I love convocation, I love it so much. It’s so positive, so optimistic, and right now, in this world of craziness, sadness, chaos, disappointment, and horror, when you can find a place that is full of positive feelings, love, , celebration, and accomplishment, I feel really good,” Rogers said.
Rogers spoke about he ability to create change as Chancellor, even if not through direct actions. While she’s still determining her main priorities, she highlighted mental health as a key concern. Having personally dealt with depression, she emphasized the profound impact a ive community can have on well-being.
“You don’t have a lot of power as Chancellor, but I think you have influence. I feel there’s a little wand that I can use during the time I’m here and the time that I was at the University of Victoria to make some positive change,” Rogers said.
In ending her address, Rogers encouraged the graduates of the convocation to change today’s world through imagination.
“Graduates, I know as you turn this page in your life, you’re taking from my generation’s hands, a troubled world. To quote the poet Patrick Lane, our world is calling for an audacity of imagination, just as it calls on you.”
Convocation and honorary degrees continue throughout the week, with ceremonies taking place from Nov. 11 to 15.
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