Pronghorn Pride is more than a catch phrase for Mathematics and Computer Science faculty member Dr. Dennis Connolly – rather it's a way of life.

Connolly, the very deserving recipient of the 2009 Senate Volunteer Award, exemplifies the spirit of giving back to the community, both at the University and beyond. The annual award is given in recognition for volunteer work on behalf of the University of Lethbridge.

An employee of the University of Lethbridge since 1967, Connolly is an ardent supporter of Pronghorn Athletics and rarely misses a Pronghorn function. Whether he is at team games, fundraising dinners or awards banquets, Connolly shares his enthusiasm with his students and is always one of the first to congratulate Pronghorn athletes and share the success of the teams with students and others.

He is also a regular at many other campus events, including most of the U of L's fine arts offerings.

A huge supporter of the campus United Way campaigns, Connolly was the biggest contributor to the 2003 silent auction and usually buys United Way Cash Calendars for himself, his students and others.

In 2005, he volunteered as Co-Chair of the extremely successful Supporting Our Students campaign. By the conclusion of this campaign, 40 per cent of faculty and staff contributed to student scholarships, one of the highest participation rates in Canada.

"The main reason for the University is the students and I want to give something back," he wrote in the Supporting Our Students campaign material.

A graduate of the University of Sydney, Connolly obtained his master's degree at Western Ontario before completing his PhD at the University of York in England. He will be honoured with the 2009 Senate Volunteer Award at the Spring Convocation ceremony.