Greg Malszecki taught in the Faculty of Health’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science as a beloved professor and honoured colleague. He was legendary for making time for students. An ebullient and empathetic mentor, Greg developed a community for his students in his lecture halls, for many years writing on the board at the top of every lecture Destination: Graduation. His gift was to inspire learning and give practical help including many letters of recommendation, which was recognized with York’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.
His daughter Karis, who was a York student, says “He paid attention to everyone as an individual, which, especially at a big university, can feel really special.” She says “I joked that I would never cross campus with him because it would take an hour - he would stop to say hi to 20 or 30 people.”
Greg passed away in July 2020 from cancer. Now, his legacy is secure with the Greg Malszecki Award for Community Engagement. Springboarding from a generous gift from an anonymous donor, three alumni who knew Greg well led a public appeal and raised over $25,000 to establish an endowment fund.
This new $1,000 award is granted annually to a first-year Kinesiology undergraduate who qualifies for financial need, and who has shown leadership and engagement in their community. Preference is given to those from smaller towns, as Greg found they could use support at a large university, and affiliated with Stong College, Greg’s community at York. His wife Jennifer says “I’m not surprised with Greg’s intent for this award as he always brought people together wherever he went, and with him, it was students first.
Greg’s son Aislinn, who was also a York student, describes his father’s intense curiosity about the different ways of knowing and being, which led him to develop such courses as “Body as Light: Survey of Meditation Practices” that explored contemplative practice from around the world: “He demonstrated a balance of two worldviews, East and West, on healing and health, which he felt could be blended together to find your whole self.”
Greg’s wisdom and generous spirit moved everyone at his Last Lecture, October 2019, “Healing and Happiness in a Broken World,” where he encouraged his audience to “plunge into deep, deep attention, deep listening, deep caring, and deep empathizing.” He said people will surprise you when they feel they’ve really been listened to.
Former students and colleagues of Greg, and anyone inspired by his legacy, are invited to contribute to the Greg Malszecki Award for Community Engagement.