Trent University Founding President Tom Symons Celebrated for A Canadian Life
Symons Trust Fund reaches $1 million mark
The book Tom Symons: A Canadian Life, containing chapters by academic colleagues and friends of Professor Symons nation-wide, was launched in honour of his achievements and influence in Canadian life at a conference and gala dinner held at Massey College on Friday, June 17, 2011.
A Canadian Life, published by the University of Ottawa Press under the editorial leadership of Ralph Heintzman, features a collection of narratives about Tom Symons’ professional life, many stories of which are linked to one of the defining achievements of his life’s work, the creation and advancement of Trent University.
Distinguished guests and speakers who were in attendance to honour Prof. Symons legacy included former prime minister Paul Martin, Quebec premier Jean Charest, Ontario culture minister Michael Chan, chief justice of Prince Edward Island David H. Jenkins and Peterborough’s mayor Daryl Bennett and Bishop De Angelis.
Other speakers at the dinner included Trent University’s Board of Governors chair Jon Grant; master of Massey College and conference host John Fraser; and dinner host Dr. Steven E. Franklin, president of Trent University.
Dr. Franklin welcomed guests to the gala dinner. “This is indeed an historic evening where we gather to pay tribute to a great man, an outstanding scholar and a stellar Canadian,” he said.
Announced at the gala, the Symons Trust endowment fund surpassed the $1 million mark from where it recently sat at $800,000, through a fundraising surge in honour of Prof. Symons. Established by Prof. Symons’ friends and colleagues in 1995, the purpose of the Symons Trust is to support and enhance the study of Canada, especially, though not exclusively, at Trent University. The Trust provides funding to support imaginative new activities, to act as seed money to explore social, environmental, economic, political and ethical issues of our time.