Dennis Connolly is the longest-serving mathematics professor at the University of Lethbridge.
Those who know his story know professor Connolly has been with the U of L since the very beginning.
“Because I’m from Australia originally, I told them that I’d only be here for one year or two years at most. But I really liked Lethbridge and I liked the job,” he said.
Connolly has been teaching at the university since its doors first opened in 1967.
He studied at the University of Western Ontario, and after completing his degree, Connolly stumbled on Lethbridge by mistake while heading to the mountains for a ski trip.
“It was April 27, 1967,” he said. “There was a five-foot snow storm — the biggest snow storm we’ve ever had. When we woke up in the morning, none of the snow plows, nothing could move. I just read in the local paper there was a new university opening.”
Connolly applied and the rest history, having gone on to teach over 10,000 people in the decades since. Out of those thousands, one of his first students, from 1967, ended up teaching with him after she graduated.
“I ended up having an office right next to his and I saw how busy he was with students all the time,” said Maria Draper. “He was never too busy to help them and they were always felt comfortable going to him for help.”
Connolly met his wife, Kate, in England while completing his PhD and raised their two children in Lethbridge.
His daughter, Helen, is also an instructor at the university.
“I don’t know if I always wanted to teach, but I definitely knew I wanted to follow an education as far as I could,” she said. “For both me and my brother, education was always really an important value.”
A lifetime advocate for university sports teams, Connolly said retirement awaits one special championship.
WATCH: University of Lethbridge rugby team launches seatbelt campaign
Comments