I need your help – to make a difference at Queen's, to make a difference for English students at Queen's, and, in a small way, to make a difference in the life of a former professor.

I can confidently say that my years at Queen’s solidified who I am as a person, and my education in the Department of English opened my mind to new ways of learning, understanding, and communicating. Too often, I take for granted the skills honed through essay writing and close-reading and the opportunities these skills, and my degree, have afforded.

Today, I need your help to provide continued support for the students of tomorrow – to endow a named scholarship for undergraduate students in the Department of English.

Queen's has had no shortage of wonderful professors who have dedicated countless hours to igniting passion in young English scholars.

For me (and maybe for you too), Professor Gwynn Dujardin was one such prof.

Unfortunately, after experiencing the physical and mental symptoms of ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis – an illness that is mimicked in some ways by Long COVID), Professor Dujardin was forced to resign from her post for her health. As her living situation was tied to her job, leaving her position at the University also meant leaving the Kingston area, and all the students whom she was always proud to teach.

As alumni, we have the privilege of staying connected to our tricolour roots as we so choose – all across the globe – through the Alumni Association and its various chapters and branches. When I picked up a box of Professor Dujardin's books to return to the library before she moved, she lamented the fact that for her, as a former professor, there was no such avenue to maintain and foster that relationship with Queen's after leaving Kingston.

That got me thinking – I was lucky to have Professor Dujardin as part of my Queen's experience (I took her year-long seminar class only because she was teaching it). But now that she has left, so many students will miss out on her brilliant, thoughtful, and creative influence. And she will miss out on moulding so many young minds.

I know she deserves to be remembered at Queen's for the incredible work she did with her students, and I believe future English scholars at Queen's deserve to know of her legacy. That's why I want your help to create The Professor Gwynn Dujardin Scholarship in English.

We need to raise $50,000 by the end of 2023 to endow the scholarship and cement Professor Dujardin’s name into the fabric of the English Department at Queen's. And every donation will help us get one step closer to that goal.

So, please, join me in donating to the department that set us on the paths we continue to walk, to found this named award in honour of an impressive scholar, amazing single mother, and one of the strongest and most caring people I know.

Sincerely, 

Peter Reimer - ArtSci'14