Dean Bill Flanagan, at the bench dedicated to the memory of Professor Stan Corbett in Macdonald Hall’s west-side courtyard, with Law’16 Council members (back row) Andrew Sapiano, Sierra Bilyk and Victoria Strachan, and (front row) Kaisha Thompson, and Jessica Spindler.
Dean Bill Flanagan, at the bench dedicated to the memory of Professor Stan Corbett in Macdonald Hall’s west-side courtyard, with Law’16 Council members (back row) Andrew Sapiano, Sierra Bilyk and Victoria Strachan, and (front row) Kaisha Thompson, and Jessica Spindler.

On June 3, students, faculty and staff gathered in the Macdonald Hall courtyard with the family of the late Professor Stan Corbett, LLB’95 (BA’66, MA’72, PhD’82) to honour his legacy and his many contributions to Queen’s Law. Members of the Class of Law’16, who graduated later that day, had chosen as their class gift a memorial bench to commemorate their much-loved professor and mentor.

“When the 2016 council met to plan this year’s class gift, we were not sure of the form it would take, but we were sure of the function: to create a permanent tribute to celebrate a very beloved professor,” said Sierra Bilyk, Law’16 Class President, at the ceremony. “When we found out about Queen’s University’s bench dedication initiative, we approached Dean Flanagan for the Faculty’s support, which was enthusiastically given, and then we raised the remainder of the funds as a class. In what is truly a testament to the regard my class has for Professor Corbett, the funds were raised in less than 24 hours.”

Those in attendance smiled as Dean Bill Flanagan shared memories of Corbett and his well-known sayings that reflected his great sense of humour and his generous nature. It was obvious that Corbett made an impact on the lives of his colleagues and students in a truly profound way, which will be remembered by all who knew him.

The Dean concluded by thanking Corbett for his outstanding and unprecedented three terms of service as Associate Dean (Academic), calling him a “pillar of the school.”