Honorary Member (2005)
Dr. Gary
Polonsky – nominated
by the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering
Gary
Polonsky is the founding President and Vice Chancellor of the
University of
Ontario Institute of Technology. He is the only individual in Canada to be concurrently president of a
university and of a college of applied arts and technology. He
currently serves
this function for both Durham College in Oshawa and the University of
Ontario
Institute of Technology. He is not an engineer but holds a B.Sc. from Lakehead University, an MA from Gonzaga in Spokane and a Doctorate in Education from
the University of Toronto.
He
began his educational career in hi home town, Thunder Bay, where he
conceived
and initiated the Dorion Trades Building, the first of four as he
carried this
concept to Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alberta, Red River in
Winnipeg, and
Durhan College in Oshawa. During this journey of discovery he led a
team of
community advocate who saw the need for a new kind of university. And
Dr.
Polonsky’s personal views are embedded in the very act of creation of
this
university, which he collaborated on with the Government of Ontario at the century’s turn. He believed
that, because of global forces that favoured excellence and innovation,
Ontario and Canada should have a university founded on
the strengths of great universities, but that risked being different in
five
area:
*Focusing
on education for selected professions;
*Delivering
the highest level of research and facilitation of learning in these
professions;
*Is
market driven through partnerships with strategic employers;
*Incorporates
laptops computers and other IT/Communications technology, and
*Facilitates
efficient transfer of students between college and university and
produces
thinkers, doers and leaders.
And
the UOIT is off to an impressive start under Dr. Polonsky leadership. It
currently has 1830 students and about 100 faculty and staff, en route
to
tripling in this decade. UOOIT is on track to become what the
Government who
created it publicly intended, the “MIT of the North.”
How
does this relate to the profession of
engineering and the EIC is of particular interest to CSME is the fact
that many
of the inaugural engineering programs are in Mechanical Engineering, or
such
related area as Manufacturing Engineering and Automotive Engineering.
These
programs have helped Canada meet a specific need, since they
come a time when the demand for mechanical engineering is at record
levels
across the country. In addition to meet the cry for greater business
and
management skills UOIT immediately launched the necessary changes to
their
programs. Dr. Polonsky has contributed greatly to the engineering
profession,
since this new university has adopted a strong Engineering Faculty.
This
leadership and innovative approach to developing engineering in Canada, is the reason the EIC has chosen
Dr. Polonsky as Honourary Member of the Institute.
Ladies
and gentlemen
and Madam President, the new honorary member of the EIC – Dr. Gary
Polonsky
