Durham College’s Gary Gannon, professor and program co-ordinator of the Human Resources program in the School of Business, IT & Management successfully defended his dissertation titled Human Resources Programming and Its Impact on Leadership within Governing Boards of Ontario Community Colleges from the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the University of Toronto. To reach his personal goal, Gannon worked tirelessly over the course of seven years toward his PhD, drawing motivation from his own resolve and that of a respected colleague.

“At the time when I was thinking about my PhD, former college President Gary Polonsky was doing his PhD in the same program that I was in,” said Gannon. “So I thought here’s a man that is running a college, and he’s doing his PhD. If he could do it, perhaps I could too.”

Gannon is no stranger to hard work, having previously earned a Master of Arts in Theory and Policy Studies in Education, a Master of Health Science in Health Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences. His interest in the business of human resources and education, specifically the board of governors and their operations, led him on this path of discovery.

Gary credits his wife for continually reminding him that yes, in fact there was a finish line approaching, even if it was seemingly moving out of reach.

Gary has his proudest moments from this journey, “Being able to work with one of the leading experts in higher education governance in Canada, Dr. Glen Jones who was most supportive, I was proud of having him as an advisor,” said Gannon. Furthermore, hearing “Congratulations Dr. Gannon” upon the defence of his dissertation certainly solidified his dream becoming a reality.