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In the fall of 2010, the BCom'80s descended on Kingston to celebrate a milestone: the 30th anniversary of their graduation from Queen’s. In between socializing, revisiting old haunts and catching a football game, they decided to mark the occasion with a class gift. Their target: an ambitious $1 million to fund an endowed entrance award for a deserving Commerce student in financial need.

“We were concerned about the increasing gap between tuition fees for the Commerce program ($14,141 in 2012/13) and those paid by Arts and Science students ($5,706),” explains John Gleeson, the Class Gift Volunteer. “If students are able to meet the stringent entrance criteria that set this program apart, we feel it would be a terrible shame if they have to decline the offer due to financial circumstances.”

The Class is well on its way to reaching its $1M goal and plans to present a cheque to Dean David Saunders during this fall’s Reunion Weekend. “My wife Sarah (BA'80) and I aren’t alone among our classmates in having first-hand knowledge of Commerce tuition costs. Our daughter Anne graduated with her BCom in 2010, and son George just graduated this past spring.” John says. “It was truly inspirational that so many classmates contributed to our class gift, despite their own financial obligations, in order to help future generations of students to realize their potential.”