Queen’s University will name their Policy Studies building after Robert Sutherland, Canada’s first black graduate. Sutherland is credited with saving the university from financial ruin and an impending takeover by the University of Toronto by bequeathing his entire estate to the university. Queen’s has recently been mired in controversy over claims of racism and intolerance towards minorities on campus.
After students and alumni campaigned for the naming, the board of trustees approved the motion in a unanimous vote. Although Sutherland is recognized at Queen’s through scholarships and bursaries, a reading room named in his honour, and a plaque in the Great Hall, students wanted more. “We were looking for something that would appropriately reflect the life and achievement of Robert Sutherland,” said student rector Leora Jackson.
Queen’s is seeking living descendents of Sutherland for the unveiling ceremony.
Admin initially refused to name the building after Sutherland, lest they lose a potential donor.
