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Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 – December 3, 20<strong>18</strong> The <strong>Chronicle</strong> 9<br />
Spaces and Places<br />
This is one in a series looking at special<br />
locations on the DC, UOIT campus<br />
Photograph by Kathryn Fraser<br />
DC President, Don Lovisa, sits next to his guitar chair inside his office.<br />
Lovisa: Global projects help DC's prospects<br />
Kathryn Fraser<br />
Madison Gulenchyn<br />
The <strong>Chronicle</strong><br />
Don Lovisa describes his path to<br />
becoming <strong>Durham</strong> College (DC)<br />
president as a “fabulous journey”<br />
and is pleased it is ongoing.<br />
It’s an educational excursion<br />
that has taken him to many towns<br />
and cities across Canada, as well<br />
as many countries throughout the<br />
world.<br />
Lovisa became president of DC<br />
10 years ago. He said the road to<br />
get here was “a long one.”<br />
“It has been a fabulous journey,”<br />
Lovisa, 60, said. “And I’m<br />
still on a great journey.”<br />
He went to school part-time,<br />
and, as he would say, “forever.”<br />
Lovisa attended St. Francis Xavier<br />
University, Lakehead University,<br />
St. Thomas University, University<br />
of Toronto and Confederation College.<br />
He earned degrees in international<br />
management, adult education<br />
and has completed the course<br />
work towards a PhD in community<br />
college leadership.<br />
Lovisa said he seized every<br />
opportunity. He was always looking<br />
for ways to create new experiences<br />
and meet people.<br />
“That’s what the road is like.<br />
Making connections, getting the<br />
education you need, having fun and<br />
making it interesting,” he said. “But<br />
also, helping people along the way,<br />
knowing you have to make a contribution.<br />
You can receive but you<br />
also have to give.”<br />
Lovisa didn’t always have the<br />
busy life he has now in <strong>Durham</strong><br />
Region. He grew up in Fort Frances,<br />
in northwestern Ontario.<br />
“Living in a small town, you<br />
have fewer opportunities. So like<br />
me and a lot of other people, to advance,<br />
you have to leave,” he said.<br />
“It is bittersweet. Small towns are<br />
a nice experience. You learn about<br />
yourself and community.”<br />
While pursuing his career,<br />
Lovisa found international work.<br />
He spent time teaching, training<br />
and consulting in areas such as<br />
globalization, trade, entrepreneurship<br />
and business.<br />
Before working for more than<br />
30 years in post-secondary education,<br />
he worked in Poland, Ukraine,<br />
Germany, Vietnam, India, Korea,<br />
China and the Caribbean.<br />
He learned both respect and<br />
teamwork were important when<br />
working with foreign counterparts.<br />
“[Working globally] broadens<br />
your perspective,” Lovisa said. “It<br />
helps you understand that there<br />
are different world-views. People<br />
see the world very differently and<br />
they react to situations, problems<br />
and questions very differently than<br />
I do. It’s [understanding] to respect<br />
that and [trying] to work together<br />
to achieve the mission that you’re<br />
there to achieve.”<br />
Lovisa said international travels<br />
teach an individual to gain respect<br />
for not only cultures but for people,<br />
too. This respect translates into his<br />
life as he applies his foreign experiences<br />
to his job at DC.<br />
“It’s a very rewarding experience,”<br />
he said. “As we have more<br />
and more international students,<br />
understanding that they’re going<br />
to bring different ideas here and<br />
we have to respect that, we have<br />
to learn from it. We also have to<br />
help them understand our value<br />
system and what it means to be in<br />
Canada.”<br />
Lovisa credits his office space<br />
as a place where he can work and<br />
help strengthen international and<br />
local relationships.<br />
“It’s a comfortable space,” he<br />
said. “[It’s] a quiet space when<br />
I want it to be [and] a fun space<br />
when I want it to be.”<br />
You can<br />
receive, but you<br />
also have to<br />
give.<br />
Lovisa enjoys personalizing his<br />
environment. A blue chair, made<br />
completely out of guitar parts, sits<br />
in his office. Lovisa built the chair<br />
and decided to auction it off. When<br />
it didn’t sell, he kept it. The chair<br />
acts as a reminder for his love of<br />
music. “It’s just part of me. I like<br />
music, I like to play,” he said.<br />
In addition to his guitar chair,<br />
student photography and sculptures<br />
fill the rest of his office. Lovisa is<br />
proud of DC’s students and surrounds<br />
himself with their work. He<br />
said the memorabilia is inspiring<br />
and motivational.<br />
He refers to his office as “a<br />
place of great pride.”<br />
“Thankful,” is the word Lovisa<br />
uses to describe himself.<br />
“For many things. For my job,<br />
for the life I get to live. For everything<br />
around me.”
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