Honorary degree citation - Myer F. Pollock*
By: John E. O’Brien, June 1975
Mr. Chancellor:
I have the honour to present to you Myer F. Pollock, distinguished Canadian and citizen of our community.
At a time when Horatio Alger was providing for some of us here today the stuff that dreams are made of as his heroes showed what could happen to a man if he developed his talents to the fullest, Myer Pollock was making those dreams come true in his own life. As a boy his imagination was fired by the magic of a crystal set, those first primitive radios. Thus began his romance with an idea and an industry that was to revolutionize the art of human communication in our time. In retrospect his role was that of David versus the American Goliath but that early sense of wonder which he never lost led from exploration to innovation to invention and finally to the establishment of one of Canada's most successful companies in the electronics industry.
Myer Pollock has been a citizen of our community for most of his life. Born in Roumania, he gre up in St. Lin, Quebec, until his parents moved to MOntreal when he was twelve. He is in the truest sense the product of his chromosomes and the Canadian opportunity for survival and success. Both served him well and he in turn has in innumerable ways returned the favour through generosity and a real breadth of understanding of social needs. For many years he served as Treasurer of the Jewish General Hospital and as a member of its Central Board; he has been a Governor of the YMHA, a member of the Board of Trustees of Loyola of Montreal, and a member of the Executive Council of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
The founding institutions of this university had in Myer Pollock a committed friend. At Sir George Williams University he established a scholarship fund and at Loyola became an active partner in the development of Communication Arts. In so many ways and at so many timely moments, his encouragement and generous intervention allowed projects to proceed which otherwise would have been postponed indefinitely. The Communication Arts Summer Institute in Europe in 1970, the embryo research laboratory for studies in perception which resulted in a fully equipped facility for measuring and evaluating information load in film, television, and other media, new and badly needed equipment in the television area - all these projects bear the stamp of Myer F. Pollock, and it is a stamp of quality control. It is not then too surprising to discover that this partnership in development, so crucial for the fledgling department and so much appreciated, has in turn been one of the great fulfillments of Myer Pollock's fifty years in the field of electronics. The University is indeed fortunate in having Myer Pollock as its faithful friend, wise counsellor, and enthusiastic supporter.
Mr. Chancellor, I am honoured to present to you, on behalf of the University Senate, and by the authority of the Board of Governors, Mr. Myer Pollock, that you may confer on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
* deceased
