the journal Issues raised with AMS Clubs and Campus Affairs Commissions Students cite communication problems and unprofessional behaviour Emmet Paradis & Jonathan Reilly Journal Staff The commissions of campus affairs and clubs are under fire, with allegations ranging from a lack of communication to inappropriate language. Concerns about the AMS Clubs Commission’s ratification process and conduct with external groups have surfaced, with an allegation of inappropriate language about the Clubs Commissioner. As for the Campus Affairs Commission, internal stakeholders say e-mails are going unanswered, and timelines are being rushed. Clubs Commission issues
In an interview with The Journal, AMS Clubs Commissioner Xian Tronsgard said the commission oversees roughly 300 AMS-ratified clubs and is responsible for ratification, re-ratification, renewal, grants, and outreach events. According to Tronsgard, prospective clubs must operate for two semesters before becoming eligible to apply. Applications are reviewed by the club advisory committee, which she said includes herself as a non-voting chair, the vice-president (university affairs), the social issues commissioner, and AMS Assembly members. Clubs are assessed on whether their applications are complete, their mandates overlap with existing groups, their budgets are detailed, and whether they’ve established a strong enough identity to be sustainable long-term. “We really want to feel that the club will be around for the next 10 years,” she said. Rather than only telling clubs they didn’t meet eligibility requirements, she said the commission now cites “the specific policy that they didn’t meet to be a lot clearer.” Tronsgard added that clubs can book consultations to review their applications and receive feedback. In an interview with The Journal, Marc Moreno of Queen’s Hispanic Organization for Pre-Medical Education alleged that his club experienced repeated delays, missed meetings, and unclear communication during the ratification process. Moreno alleged that during a public interaction in the ARC, Tronsgard said to him, “You’re such queensjournal.ca
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a f—king asshole.” When asked about that interaction in The Journal’s interview, Tronsgard declined to comment beyond the AMS’s statement. In a written statement to The Journal, the AMS said it was aware of the interaction. “The interaction occurred during a public event where an individual, who was upset with the outcome of their club ratification process, engaged in verbally aggressive behaviour toward staff,” the statement said. “The individual was aware of the ratification process and appropriate avenues to raise concerns, but instead chose to use inappropriate methods in a public setting.” The AMS said it’s committed to maintaining a respectful environment and that abuse toward staff will not be tolerated. Tronsgard said the commission is in the process of restructuring how it supports prospective clubs. She also pointed to a proposed “procedural fairness clause,” which she said would make club-related rubrics public online. In response to concerns about the ratification process, she said the commission recognizes student frustration and is working to address it through policy changes. Campus Affairs Commission issues
Queen’s StuCons (QSC) Head Manager Kaiwen Tee, ArtSci ’26, said in an interview with The Journal that she’s been dealing with issues surrounding the AMS’s process for approving student events. According to Tee, the system requires multiple approvals, including review from the AMS Campus Affairs Commission. However, Tee said delays and communication gaps have led to concerns from many clubs, concerns which have been brought to her. Tee said clubs would submit forms but then not get responses, adding when she would reach out to Campus Affairs Commissioner Ali Hussein to address the issue, she also wouldn’t receive a response. She explained Hussein would claim “’You can e-mail me at any time,’ but [when] we sent multiple emails and follow-ups, there was no response. […] In general, there was a lot of defensiveness going on.” She said the issue was first raised with AMS leadership in September and October, but only limited changes were made to address the concerns. She added that “a lot” of meetings about the system occurred without QSC staff, despite the service playing a required role in approving events with more than 100 attendees or alcohol. The sanctioning form itself has also confused, Tee said, noting that earlier versions included incorrect QSC pricing information and unclear instructions for clubs submitting requests. In some cases, Tee said clubs received approval for events only a day before they were scheduled to take place. @queensjournal
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Internal timelines were also rushed, according to Tee, who said she was only informed QSC was needed at an AMS awards show a week before the event. She said that by this time, her schedules were already sent out, as there’s a standard practice of two weeks’ notice. “Last year, I remember the QSC head manager was getting [Microsoft] Teams’ messages from people at the AMS being like, ‘Can you book this in two days? You need to do this stuff.’ And that’s a lot of pressure, so I don’t know if it’s a broader trend within the AMS,”
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the Anishinaabe and
Haudenosaunee peoples.
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Tee said. The Journal reached out to the AMS and Hussein to address
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these concerns, but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
Ontario Sunshine List
Queen's University's Top Five Earners
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$550,000
Salaries CAD
Queen’s University
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$556,520
$500,000
$517,422
$450,000
$400,000
$414,920
$418,609
Paul Kubes
Patrick Deane
$425,762 Elspeth Murray
Shai Dubey
Jane Philpott
Queen's Top Five Paid Employees
Top five earners at Queen’s all bring in over $400,000 salaries in 2025
Jane Philpott remains highest earner despite new provincial role Lilly Meechan Assistant News Editor Queen’s 2025 Sunshine List revealed a persistent gender pay gap, with men making up most earners and receiving higher average salaries than their female counterparts Published on March 27, the Ontario Sunshine List identified Ontario’s top public sector earners making more than $100,000 in 2025. Among them were 1,469 Queen’s employees, with an average salary of $174,914. Compared to 2024, the number of Queen’s employees on the list decreased by seven people, while the average salary rose by $2,158. Of the 1,469 employees on the list, 690 were female, and 753 were male, making men 62 per cent of the total. The average salary for female employees was $167,697, compared with $181,991 for male employees. The average raise for female employees was 4.7 per cent, almost one percentage point higher than for male counterparts, who experienced an average raise of 3.6 per cent. The Journal compiled a list of the top five highest earners at Queen’s for the 2025 calendar year. 5. Paul Kubes, Professor, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy, $414,920
Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy, Kubes, earned $414,920 in 2025. His salary increased by 65.2 per cent from 2024, rising from $251,138 to $414,920. In 2024, it was announced that Kubes would be joining Queen’s as a new research chair to advance research on cancer and chronic disease, making him a part of the Queen’s Health Sciences and the Queen’s @queensjournal
Queen’s top five earners made a combined $2.3 million in 2025.
Cancer Research Institute.
4. Patrick Deane, Principal and Vice-Chancellor: $418,609
In 2025, Principal Patrick Deane ranked as Queen’s fourth-highest earner, with a salary of $418,609. His pay remained unchanged from 2024, marking a third consecutive year without a raise. In 2024, Deane ranked as the University’s fifth-highest earner, meaning he moved up one spot in this year’s top five. Among Ontario university employees listed under the President and Vice-Chancellor category in 2025, 20 people appeared on the Sunshine List, with the overall average salary being $357,318. Deane’s salary was above the category average, though lower than several of Ontario’s other top-paid university presidents and vice-chancellors, including Western President Alan Shepard at $506,000, University of Guelph President Rene Van Acker at $496,493, McMaster President Susan Tighe at $465,621, and Carleton President Wisdom Tettey at $419,502.
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2. Shai Dubey, Lecturer, Smith School of Business: $517,422 Dubey was ranked as Queen’s second-highest earner in 2025, with a salary of $517,421. According to the list, his pay increased by 8.9 per cent from 2024, when he earned $475,107. That follows a 29 per cent increase in 2024 from his 2023 salary of $368,407, continuing a sharp upward trend in recent years. He has been a Queen’s employee since 2010 and taught negotiation and international business law through the Smith School of Business and Queen’s Faculty of Law. In 2025, he was listed as a Lecturer. Among employees in that position category in 2025, 117 people appeared on the Sunshine List, with an average salary of $154,837. 1. Jane Philpott, former Director of the School of Medicine and Dean of the Faculty of Health: $556,520
Murray ranked as Queen’s third-highest earner in 2025, with a salary of $425,762. Her pay increased by 4.8 per cent from $406,166 in 2024, following a 20.7 per cent decline the previous year from her 2023 salary of $512,348. Murray has been teaching at the Smith School of Business since 1996. She has held several senior academic leadership roles at Smith over the years. She served as associate dean of MBA programs, director of the Centre of Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Social Impact, and associate professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship at Queen’s.
Philpott remained Queen’s top earner in 2025, with a salary of $556,520. Her pay increased by 0.7 per cent from 2024, when she earned $552,435, after a 1.2 per cent increase the previous year. Philpott served as director of the School of Medicine and dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s from July 2020 until November 2024. She stepped down to begin her new role as Chair of the Primary Care Action Team, an initiative by the Ontario government to connect every Ontarian to primary health care. On the Ontario public salary disclosure website, Philpott’s 2025 position is listed as “Chair, Connecting Every Ontarian to Primary Health Care Initiative,” rather than one of her former Queen’s roles, but her employer is stated as Queen’s University. While her LinkedIn claims she’s still a professor of family medicine at Queen’s, it remains unclear what portion of her salary is tied to her previous University position versus her 2024 provincial appointment.
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3. Elspeth Murray, Director (Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Social Impact), Academic Director (Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship), Associate Professor, Smith School of Business: $425,762