A Message from the Master
Dr. Michael Stepniak
It is an honour and a joy to return to Melbourne and join this remarkable college community at such an exciting moment in its evolution. I am deeply grateful to all – Dr Stewart Gill as outgoing Master, staff, student leaders, alumni, and Fellows – who have already made Anne, Tilda, and me feel so welcome.
For more than 130 years, Queen’s College has stood with distinction among Australia’s historic residential colleges; a place of learning and leadership, tradition and renewal, intellectual ambition and deep care.
As I pore over documents and artifacts that illuminate Queen’s history and meet its students, deeply invested staff, and alumni, one thing is clear: Queen’s carries its heritage not only with care but with ambition. It holds a spirit of open-hearted change, an unspoken willingness to embrace new ideas, and an irreverence that refuses to let it stand still.
Here at Queen’s, a strong sense of community is matched by a unique culture of student autonomy and leadership, setting it apart from other great residential colleges. Generations of students have gained more than knowledge; they’ve gained the confidence to shape the world beyond its gates.
I was born in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to a Polish immigrant family and left Australia at 15 to train abroad as a concert violinist. Since then, I have returned regularly, witnessing Australia’s growth into an increasingly cosmopolitan and inclusive society.
My path has wound through concert halls and classrooms, boardrooms and bookshelves. At every stage, vital relationships with mentors, students, and colleagues have shaped my approach to leadership.
I join Queen’s not only with deep respect for its identity but with a hearty readiness to welcome those who challenge easy certainty, who fidget in meetings, who dream of changing the world (or just their corner of it), who scribble ideas on napkins and forget where they left them. I join, committed to ensuring that Queen’s remains a place where:
- Excellence is the standard. Deep learning, spirited debate, deep engagement across arts and sports, and lifelong friendships define the Queen’s experience.
- People are truly known. Care, empathy, and inclusion are not ideals at Queen’s but daily practices.
- Students lead the way. The College’s unique student leadership culture thrives on trust, responsibility, collaboration, and autonomy.
- History is honoured – and reckoned with. As an institution on Wurundjeri Country, I am humbled to engage in truth-telling, reconciliation, and the strengthening of Indigenous voices.
- Sustainability is taken seriously. Climate responsibility and a sustainable future are treated as a defining principle at Queen’s, from the Council to the student body.
- Curiosity and courage shape the future. The best institutions are not preserved; they are built daily by those bold enough to ask: What comes next?
With all the above in mind, I share a simple hope for us all.
For students:
You are not just here to succeed in your studies. You are here to exchange ideas, stretch your thinking, be challenged by your peers, and shape the world you will step into.
For Wyverns and friends:
Queen’s ever remains your home. Its future is stronger when every member, past and present, rallies behind it.
For those just discovering Queen’s:
If you are curious and ambitious, I invite you to discover what this College can offer. Step through its doors, and you may find yourself stepping into something bigger; ideas that unsettle, friendships that last, and a world that won’t look the same again.
I join Queen’s, eager to listen, learn, and lead; to help ensure that Queen’s not only endures but thrives, and remains ever a place where tradition finds innovation, ideas spark action, and students and Wyverns find both courage and home.