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A new city, new colleagues, new experiences, and new opportunities.

Incoming faculty members at Queen’s had their own orientation day on Thursday to help introduce them to the wide array of resources available at the university while also answering any questions they may have heading into the academic year.

Michael Doxtater arrives at the university as a Queen’s National Scholar. His research interest includes Indigenous knowledge recovery and organizational learning and he is cross-appointed to the departments of Languages, Literatures and Cultures and the Global Development Studies departments

“To be welcomed by the provost (Benoit-Antoine Bacon) and by other senior administration as you enter into the Queen’s community is something that impressed me,” he says. “I have worked in other institutions and it’s not always a very community welcoming environment. This is an important part of what Queen’s represents.”

The focus of the event, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Faculty Recruitment and Support Program in the Faculty Relations Unit, is providing participants the information they need and fostering the connections to help them succeed in this latest step in their careers. The day also provides an opportunity to network with new colleagues.

“For new faculty members arriving at Queen’s orientation is vital because a new position is an investment in a future career, for both the new hire and the university,” says Jill Scott, Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning). “It is important to build a solid, welcoming foundation by providing our new colleagues with an overview of the resources available to them and where to go for more information when they need it.”

The orientation program focused on the three key areas of faculty members’ work: teaching, research, and service to the university community. Attendees also took part in a series of discussions with representatives from campus units, including Information and Technology Services, the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen’s Library and University Research Services.

Already 36 new tenure-stream faculty members have been hired by Queen’s this year, closing in on the objective of 40 for the 2017-18 academic year.

With a commitment to faculty renewal, Queen’s has developed a plan that aims to hire 200 new faculty over the next five years. Once attrition is taken into account, the result will be an average of 10 net new hires per year. Included in this five-year plan are 20 Queen’s National Scholars. This is close to double the hiring pace of the past six years. The twin goals of the program is to energize and enhance Queen’s research, and to diversify faculty by proactively seeking representation from equity seeking groups, notably women, racialized people, indigenous peoples and people with disabilities.