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Principal Patrick Deane is pleased to announce the appointment of Marcus Taylor as Special Advisor to the Principal on the SDGs. Dr. Taylor will begin in the role in January 2026 and succeeds Heather Aldersey, who served in the role for the past two and a half years.

Under Dr. Aldersey’s leadership, an advisory council with representation from across the university was established to develop the SDGs Operational Framework for Queen’s and identify strategic directions for embedding the goals into all areas of university life. With the framework now complete, the council has transitioned to an implementation council, which will lead efforts to coordinate and advance the framework’s actions across Queen’s.

“As we mark this transition, it is important to recognize the impact of Heather’s contributions to the university’s SDG leadership.” says Principal Deane. “In her role as Special Advisor, she has advanced a thoughtful, collaborative, and ambitious institutional approach to sustainability and global impact. Marcus is well positioned to build on this progress as he steps into the role and guides the next phase of this work.”

Dr. Taylor is a professor and head of the department in Global Development Studies at Queen’s. With a keen commitment to building global engagement strategies around sustainability, he brings over two decades of research, publication, and advocacy on climate change issues to the role. Through his extensive research on climate resilient rural development strategies across South Asia, he has been advisor to various international bodies on climate and was a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publication Climate Change 2021: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.  

“With only four years to the culmination of the SDGs period, it is vital that Queen’s mobilize its existing framework to catalyze further impact” comments Dr. Taylor. “Building on Dr. Aldersey’s carefully laid foundations, this work requires extending the coordination and collaboration of all key partners: students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. I look forward to cooperating widely across these constituencies.”

For more information about the university’s SDGs operational framework and the role of the special advisor, please visit the Office of the Principal and Vice-Chancellor’s website.