“A match made in heaven.”
That’s what Don Cole, Sc’90, MBA’00, and Rob Crabtree, Sc’90, remember thinking when the Class of Sc’70 approached their Sc’90 class a couple of years ago with an idea that had never been tried at Queen’s before: formally inviting a younger cohort to join an established fund and adding their name to it. The shared goal: to support the Queen’s Rocket Engineering Team (QRET) for years to come.
It wasn’t just Mr. Cole and Mr. Crabtree – president and vice-president of Sc’90, respectively – who thought it was a perfect pairing. Sc’90 had struggled to build momentum around its own fund and jumped at the chance to join forces with a successful one. Engineering design teams had also been huge for their student experience, and several classmates went on to careers in aerospace, including work on Canadarm 2.
“And then you get exposed to the students in QRET,” says Mr. Crabtree. “They’re so fantastic, so passionate. They’re hard not to love.”
And so, at Homecoming 2025, the two classes made the unprecedented partnership official, publicly committing to a shared fund and shared stewardship, and blowing by Sc’90’s initial fundraising goal of $50,000 by Saturday morning.
While the collaboration moved quickly, it was rooted in nearly two decades of steady giving. Sc’70 established its class fund in 2007, and about eight years ago chose to focus on QRET, a student-run team that designs, builds, tests, and launches rockets for international competition.
“We just thought what they were doing was so interesting,” says Wally Palmer, Sc’70, Law’73, and president of Sc’70. “And it became much more meaningful for our class, because we could see we weren’t just giving money that went into the ether. We could see the direct connection.”
That focus reinvigorated Sc’70. Ahead of their 55th reunion, they set ambitious goals: growing their fund to $550,000, securing $2 million in planned gifts, and partnering with another class to continue what they started.
For QRET, the partnership has meant financial stability for expenses like travel and new engines, as well as personal connections with alumni that have led to strategic plans, industry connections, and more.
“Having alumni who aren’t going anywhere helps keep us focused on long-term goals,” says QRET president Melanie Phillips. “It’s a huge advantage for a student team with constant turnover. We’re incredibly fortunate.”
For Mr. Crabtree, the collaboration captures something even larger.
“It shows the best of what Queen’s and Smith Engineering are all about. One class taking the lead, another stepping forward to carry on a legacy, and all of it feeding into the enthusiasm and ambition of students. You can’t help but get caught up in it, and I hope this is a model for other classes to do something similar.”