January Speaker - May Cooper
May Cooper emigrated to Canada from Scotland in the late 1950s at the young age of 18. May has enjoyed an active and busy life. Whether it has been travelling through Canada, the US and Europe with her husband John, playing tennis; cross country and downhill skiing; Scottish country dancing; singing in several choirs and performing in amateur theatre, she has always kept occupied and considers herself to be a lifelong learner. In addition to contributing to the community, working a long and successful career and raising her two children, May is now also a proud grandmother and great grandmother. While delighted to have made the decision many years ago to become a Canadian citizen and to have lived her entire adult life here, May is rightfully very proud of her Scottish heritage. Speaking about Robert Burns gives her the opportunity to share her knowledge about this fascinating man. May has been an active member of Probus since 2013. |
FEBRUARY SPEAKER - Dr. Gary Polonsky, founder of Ontario Tech. His subject will be "The Creation of Ontario Tech University”.
Dr. Gary Polonsky was an instrumental and inspirational leader in the creation of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Prior to the establishment of the university, he had served as President of Durham College since 1988. He was President of both the university and Durham College from 2003 until he retired in 2006. Dr. Polonsky served as honorary patron of the Ontario Philharmonic and honorary chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Walk, and led the successful campaign to raise $1,000,000 for the Oshawa Community Health Centre. Over the years, he has received several distinguished honours for his contributions to educational and community-based initiatives and charities, and was honoured with a permanent place on the City of Oshawa's Walk of Fame. Before moving to Durham Region, he served as a faculty member at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, later as Vice-President at Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alberta and Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, and as President of Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In his words, "When I came to Durham Region in 1988, the last thing on my mind was to create a university. Yet, it happened, against daunting odds." How it happened will be the subject of this month's address. |