Campus Life

Honorary degree recipient has been with the U of L from the start

The University of Lethbridge is pleased to announce that Dr. Dennis Connolly, a mathematics professor since 1967, will receive an honorary degree at the 2017 Spring Convocation ceremonies.

“During the U of L’s 50th anniversary year, we are doubly proud to award Dennis Connolly an honorary degree during his 50th-year career anniversary,” says U of L Chancellor Janice Varzari. “Throughout his time here, Dennis has shown outstanding commitment to this institution and its students and that makes him a perfect ambassador to the community at large.”

The University will present Connolly with the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 2017 Spring Convocation II Ceremony on June 1 at 2:30 p.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness.

Dr. Dennis Connolly

Dr. Dennis Connolly was one of the original professors hired by the fledgling University of Lethbridge in 1967 and he is the last of that group still to be teaching 50 years later. Connolly found himself storm-stayed in Lethbridge during the blizzard of 1967. He checked out the campus, applied for a position in the mathematics department and signed on for two years.

Connolly completed an undergraduate degree in mathematics at the University of Sydney in his homeland of Australia. As a Commonwealth Scholar, he completed a master’s degree at Western University in 1967 and later earned a doctorate at the University of York in England.

An exemplary scholar, Connolly has published works on statistics, probability and casino gambling. He has lectured on numerous and varied topics, including sundials and projectiles and written about predicting the tides, mortgage renewals and league schedules.

He has been a keen supporter of U of L students, taking in Pronghorn games and Faculty of Fine Arts drama productions and supporting Pronghorn Athletics. He’s also fostered school spirit through his participation in the United Way campus campaign and the Supporting Our Students campaign. For all his efforts on behalf of the University, Connolly received the 2009 Senate Volunteer Award.