Queen’s alumni parade their wares in New York

The newly formed New York Alumni Chapter of Queen’s University marked its launch by becoming the first organisation of its kind from the island of Ireland to take part in the world’s oldest and biggest St Patrick’s Day parade. Almost two million spectators lined the streets of Manhattan to watch 150,000 marchers including almost 100 Queen’s alumni who are based in the city. Also taking part were five students from the University who won the highly prestigious Datathon competition in November. They analysed data related to sustainability to take the top prize. The University’s Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Senate, Dr Len O’Hagan said: “Queen’s is committed to strengthening student recruitment efforts in USA and Canada while deepening engagement with our alumni. “Today is an exciting moment as we officially launch the New York City Alumni Chapter and we could hardly have done it at a more exciting event and place.” Eoin McMullan, Chair of Convocation at Queen’s, said that it was fitting the new NY chapter is being launched during the 180th anniversary of Queen’s. He said: “Convocation makes a significant contribution to the university’s governance process and allows graduates to be involved but also ensures continued connection to the University. “With around 250,000 alumni around the world and having engaged with around 4,500 in North America alone, we hope to expand our international alumni representation significantly in the coming years.” Also joining the Queen’s group in the parade were Mick Cunningham and Valerie Weisler who have been recognised as part of the Queen’s Leaders 18-45. The initiative, launched as part of the Queen’s 180th-anniversary celebrations to reflect the founding year of 1845, recognises graduates as global ambassadors for the University and the impact they have made in their respective fields.