Talk:Frank A. DeMarco

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Thank you for your interest in the Frank A. DeMarco article.

Based on feedback so far, we have done some more research to add some clarity to the article to date.

For three decades or more, Dr. DeMarco’s name was a very prominent one, not only in the Windsor community, but in the circles involved with delivery of higher education at the provincial and Canada-wide levels. His outstanding reputation was of particular significance in an era of unprecedented growth in post-secondary education. DeMarco’s three Commonwealth medals over the period 1953 to 1977 give some evidence of his standing, as does the Canada medal, some years after his retirement.

We have re-worded the article to clarify DeMarco’s standing as the inaugural Principal of Essex College for the four years that Essex College operated after opening its doors as a distinct non-denominational entity. As we have now highlighted in the article, the collaborative effort that went into the smooth transition from an historic Roman Catholic liberal arts college into a modern non-denominational university in roughly one decade (1953-1963) was unprecedented. And this harmonious transformation was essentially DeMarco’s brainchild.

This endeavour could not have come to fruition without the support, foresight, and participation of the Basilian priests and other community leaders. But the fact that everyone was pulling in the same direction towards a common goal only underlines the magnitude of the achievement.

The uniqueness of this accomplishment needs also be viewed in the context of the fact that Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, still has two parallel taxpayer-supported education systems up to the twelfth grade level: a Roman Catholic schools system and a non-denominational one. This owes to Ontario’s constitution and the early heritage of central Canada, where Upper Canada settlers, including the post-1776 Loyalists, came together with the original French Canadian settlements, and found ways to establish a society and government that worked. Windsor and environs was a true microcosm of this transition, having one of the largest French-Canadian populations in southern Ontario, around and amidst an English population, and followed by the multicultural overlay of the 20th century. All of this was accentuated with Windsor’s proximity to Detroit, Michigan and that whole region’s participation in the burgeoning auto industry and other North American business and industry that evolved post-war.

The manner in which the University of Windsor quickly and efficiently negotiated the pathway from the old order to the new was exemplary. The challenge, in a medium-sized city to meet growing demand for higher education in a cost-effective manner, that was taken up by DeMarco was a notable accomplishment. His story is notable not only for its historical details, but because it is particularly illustrative of a special leadership that was called upon to successfully navigate cultural forces that came together in Ontario in the post-war and expansion period.

(Perhaps I should add some of the above to the article????)Ammiamm (talk)