EDMONTON — Riding through Alberta winters to get to a one-room schoolhouse on horseback and finding ways to secure university prerequisites through correspondence, Mike Petryk knew earning an education was worth every extra mile.
“Even though my parents weren’t educated themselves, they knew that education is the way to go to improve your life,” Mike recalls.
That commitment to higher learning has come full circle as Mike and family donate $10 million in his name to establish the Mike Petryk School of Dentistry. This generous gift will help support goals including providing pediatric dental care for underserved populations, supporting worthy students and funding research to inspire future improvements in dentistry.
The Petryks – Mike, wife Pat and children Susan and Bob – decided to donate to the University of Alberta to honour Mike’s long career as a dentist, along with his work ethics and values.
“I get a lump in my throat (over the naming),” says Mike. “It's overwhelming and I feel very proud."
“If there's any way that we can help students to have a better life and be happy, that’s what we want, because we’ve just had a fabulous life,” adds Pat.
Born in 1934, Mike Petryk grew up near Grassland, Alta, about 180 km northeast of Edmonton. A trip to the dentist inspired him to pursue dentistry as a profession, so he enrolled at the University of Alberta — making him the first in his family to go to university. Since then, dozens of family members have attended the U of A.
A year after his 1960 graduation, Mike and Pat moved to Calgary, where he opened a brand new clinic. Mike’s most famous patient was country and western singer Wilf Carter. Many early patients brought along their children, even their grandchildren, for dental care. Mike says he went to work with a smile on his face for more than 40 years, finally retiring at the age of 69.
Philanthropic donations like the Petryks’ allow the university to provide exceptional student experiences, research and patient care, according to Paul Major, professor and chair of the School of Dentistry. The school has done a lot of pro bono work for children in Edmonton who are underserved, so donated funds will help cover the cost of delivering care.
“We’re really proud to have the Petryk name attached to our school,” says Major. “Mike Petryk’s focus was on providing high-quality care for his patients, it wasn’t about trying to make money. The patients come first, and serving the patients was his No.1 priority."
More information can be found here. For interviews please contact: Sarah Vernon | University of Alberta communications associate | svernon@ualberta.ca