Better community of support for grads—and their Law School

For the new Queen’s Law Alberta Alumni Council, priority number one is to build community.

“First, we want to enhance the alumni network in the province and facilitate relationships to support Queen’s Law,” says Stuart O’Connor, Law '86, co-chair of the Alberta Council and President of Timber Ridge Capital Ltd. 

“There is a growing number of Queen’s alumni in our province, especially here in Calgary,” adds co-chair Peter Johnson, Law '89 (Artsci '85), General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Shaw Communications. “We intend this to be a great vehicle for strengthening ties to the Law School.”  

Dean Bill Flanagan, a fellow Albertan who grew up in Lacombe, has a particularly close connection to the province and alumni practising there. “There’s a terrific group of highly dedicated graduates on this new council, and I look forward to working with them to deepen the school’s relationship with all our alumni in the province,” he says. 

Holding regular events is one way the Alberta Council plans to build community. For instance, member Dino De Luca, Law '87 (Appsci'84), hosted the annual Calgary reception last May at his firm, where Dean Flanagan and fellow grads gathered to celebrate the first Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP Scholar. The 20 Albertans accepted into Law '16 were also invited. In December, the Dean returned to the city for a second festive event they hope will become a Law tradition. As O’Connor puts it, “Our goal is to provide such occasions for alumni who want to maintain personal ties, reconnect with the Law School, and encourage prospective students.”   

Johnson cites other Council benefits for alumni: “They will have more of a voice in the school’s planning processes and in helping the Dean realize his vision to enhance Queen’s Law’s reputation—which benefits us all. Also, we will provide better networking opportunities for grads.”

Besides these two co-chairs, the Alberta Council has six members whose great range, in O’Connor’s words, “benefit our relationship-building priority -- law grads from different years, backgrounds, practices and firms.”  

Following initial community building, they will focus on identifying key projects to support alumni and the school—perhaps scholarships or other fund-raising. “Personally, I’d also like to encourage the cross-disciplinary work within the Law School that’s been helpful in my career,” says Johnson, who completed a Queen’s BA in Economics.

Positive feelings about Queen’s are what motivated both men to get involved. “It’s a way to give back,” says O’Connor. Johnson adds, “I’m doing this because I genuinely enjoyed my seven years at Queen’s studying Economics and Law.” 

Alberta grads: Watch your email for news and upcoming events!