New building’s exam facilities will be among first to host students.

Mitchell Hall's central atrium.

Queen's staff touring Mitchell Hall a few weeks in advance of opening.

A corridor of private rooms inside the new Examination Centre.

One of the new spaces inside the Mitchell Hall Examination Centre.

One of three gymnasiums opening in time to host Fall Term exams.

The Queen’s community will have its first look inside the newest building on campus next week, as parts of Mitchell Hall begin to open. Doors will open on Monday, Dec. 3, granting access to the central atriums and a new Starbucks location. Three gymnasiums, two multi-purpose classrooms, and the new Examination Centre will also open to host students writing tests during the Fall Term exam period, which runs Dec. 5-20.

Access to these spaces will mark the first major step in Mitchell Hall’s phased opening, which will see the unveiling of new student services spaces, academic and innovation centres, research and athletic facilities, and more, over the next several months.

“On behalf of Queen’s, I am pleased to welcome staff and students into a few of many signature, new spaces Mitchell Hall will have to offer,” says Tom Harris, Interim Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). “We are looking forward to a smooth move-in period, as our various teams, services, and centres take up occupancy over the coming weeks and months.”

During the Fall Term exam period, Queen’s students will write over 65,000 exams, most of them in Mitchell Hall’s three gyms, and more than 3,300 accommodated exams in the new third-floor Examination Centre and two first-floor multi-purpose rooms.

“Students writing in the new testing spaces are welcome to visit Mitchell Hall beginning the week of Dec. 3 to get a sense of the facilities before their exams,” says Suzanne Arniel, Associate University Registrar, Records and Services. “The Examination Centre is a wonderful new addition to campus, as it will now provide added support for the growing number of students who require accommodations when taking exams.”

The Examination Centre, located on the third floor of Mitchell Hall, offers a mix of private, semi-private, and regular classroom spaces, and is equipped with computers that offer a suite of assistive software capable of meeting students’ needs. It includes a reception area, as well as 35 semi-private spaces, and 36 private rooms for students to complete their testing. On the building’s main level, two multi-purpose classrooms equipped to hold 30 students each are also available for accommodated exams.

Over the months of December and January, more facilities will open their doors, including the Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC), Faith and Spiritual Life, and Student Community Relations which are all moving from the John Deutsch University Centre (JDUC) to Mitchell Hall, as well as the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre (DDQIC).

The Gregory David and Neil Rossy Health Promotion Hub will also open in mid-December, and starting in January, student-athletes will be working out in the new High Performance Varsity Training Centre, which will increase capacity in the ARC. Throughout the next term, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science technology-enabled active learning classrooms will be opening, as will new research space for the Beaty Water Research Centre, and Queen’s Institute for Disruptive Technologies.

Official opening events to recognize the donors and celebrate the new building are planned for March 2019. The Côté Sharp Student Wellness Centre will open following the end of the current academic year, so to minimize any impact on service.

Located at the corner of Union and Division streets on the former site of the Physical Education Centre, Mitchell Hall was made possible through over $50 million in philanthropic support. The federal and Ontario governments also contributed $22 million to the project.

Learn more about Mitchell Hall on the website.