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In May 2013, the Faculty of Law began the process of renewing and revising its strategic plan, with a goal of enhancing learning opportunities for students and building on the faculty’s reputation for research excellence.  

A discussion document entitled The Next Five Years: 2013-2018, highlights the pros and cons to being a small-sized law school, including the benefits of a tight knit community and the reality of having smaller numbers of full-time faculty. Also discussed are options that could generate the revenue needed to hire more full-time faculty members, including a possible modest expansion of the first-year class. Increased faculty numbers could mean the chance to build upon course offerings and enhance Queen’s Law’s excellent research reputation.

“It’s unlikely that Queen’s will be permitted to raise tuition fees beyond the current annual increase, and fundraising alone won’t be enough to make a substantial increase in faculty numbers,” says Bill Flanagan, Dean, Faculty of Law. “It’s uncertain to what extent introducing new options for further education, such as graduate diploma, certificates and continuing education programs will have the potential to make a significant contribution to increased faculty members.”

While Ontario professional schools are allowed to implement 5 per cent tuition increases, this is barely sufficient to cover annual salary increases and benefits for current faculty and staff.

Out of many revenue generating options, expanding student enrolment in Queen’s Law appears to be the most realistic.

“While enrolment would increase, the Faculty would remain committed to ensuring that a significant part of the increased revenue would go towards maintaining the outstanding levels of student support and satisfaction,” says Bill Flanagan, Dean of Law.

The Strategic Plan is revised and renewed every five years or so and the last plan came to an end in 2010. Members of the Strategic Planning Committee are also looking to engage all students in the faculty in discussions about the strategic direction of Queen’s Law.

Members of the Queen’s Law community will have the opportunity to review the Plan during the drafting stages. Additionally, student representatives on the Faculty Board will be able to vote on the Plan when it is presented to Board.

The current members of the strategic planning committee are Lisa Dufraimont and Mark Walters (Co-Chairs), William Flanagan (Dean, Faculty of Law), Sharry Aiken (Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies), Erik Knutsen (Associate Professor, Faculty of Law), Helen Connop (Manager, Education Equity), Naheed Yaqubian (President, Law Students’ Society), and Sheila Murray (Law ’82, Chair, Dean’s Council).