The hard work and commitment of Greg Wight, former President and CEO of Algoma Central Corporation, was recognized on Thursday, June 11 when Wight was presented with the Georgian College Board of Governors’ Honorary Diploma.
Georgian College President and CEO MaryLynn West-‐Moynes made the presentation during convocation ceremonies at the Owen Sound Campus.
The Honorary Diploma is presented to a recipient who has demonstrated excellence in their profession or industry, and who has made a major contribution to an academic program at Georgian College through a significant contribution of expertise, influence and personal time.
“Greg Wight embodies all of this criteria. He is held in high regard by his peers and praised by Georgian faculty members for his incredible commitment to the college and our students,” said West-‐Moynes. “While president of Algoma Central, Wight went above and beyond to support Georgian College’s marine programs and its cadets.”
Wight joined Algoma in 1980 and held successive senior management positions. During his more than three decades of leadership, Wight made numerous personal visits to Georgian classrooms.
Wight also empowered his staff to contribute to Georgian by having representatives sit on the Marine Program Advisory Committee and award scholarships to deserving students annually. He championed the Centre for Marine Training and Research at the Owen Sound Campus. In fact, when Georgian launched a fundraising campaign in 2008 to equip the centre with state-‐of-‐the-‐art simulators, Algoma, with Greg as newly appointed President and CEO, proudly contributed to the project.
Most recently, Wight has been an instrumental advocate of Georgian’s plan to build a Marine Emergency Duties Training and Research Centre at the Owen Sound Campus, following the closure of the only such training facility in Ontario in 2013. Wight recognizes, and supports, the tremendous impact Georgian will have on the Great Lakes marine industry if its vision is brought to fruition – to become Ontario’s comprehensive marine training facility, serving both cadets and working mariners who require ongoing training.
Algoma is currently Georgian’s largest marine co-‐op employer and marine graduate employer, supporting future leaders and cadets in the industry. This is in part due to the tireless commitment Wight has shown to students and the college.