Professor Karol J. Krotki
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July 16, 2007
It is with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Professor Karol J. Krotki. Professor Krotki has been a dominant and influential positive force in my department and among scholars in Canada and international demographic circles. My thoughts are with Dr. Krotki's family on this sad occasion.
I first met Professor Krotki in 1979 in Saskatoon while I was still a student, during the annual meetings of the Canadian Population Society. It was my first such meeting, my first experience in delivering a research paper in front of a professional audience. I will never forget the collegial reception which Dr. Krotki showed me. From that brief meeting I knew immediately that this was a man of great intellectual capacity and influence, but most of all a kind man. Undoubtedly all those that have had the good fortune of knowing Professor Krotki share this very same feeling.
We are not likely to encounter another human being of his stature and influence very soon. Professor Krotki has been a significant figure in so many people's lives, especially his students and colleagues. His intellectual legacy and contributions have been far reaching, having published numerous articles and books on social and technical demography in some of the most prestigious venues in the field. As a demographer I have been enriched by his works, as have many others. Dr. Krotki mentored to completion a large number of graduate students who have taken up important academic and research positions in universities and research bureaus in Canada and in other parts of the world.
His intellectual influence will continue through the achievements of future scholars. Dr. Krotiki was the central force behind the establishment of the Society of Edmonton Demographers and three scholarships for graduate students in the department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. We are all thankful to Professor Krotki for this important contribution and for having enriched our lives through his expert mentorship, collegiality and friendship.
Dr. Krotki will be missed by me, his former students, my colleagues in the department of Sociology at the University of Alberta and in the Canadian Population Society, and by his many friends throughout the world.
Frank Trovato
Department of Sociology
University of Alberta
Canada
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July 2007
Personal Memories: Dr. Karol J. Krotki Memoria
I learned with deep regret the sad news of the passing away of Dr. Karol Krotki who was dear to me. I had the good fortune of knowing and keeping in contact with Dr. Krotki for over four decades. I was recruited by him to start my career in Statistics Canada and I worked with him in the Research Sub-Division of the then Dominion Bureau of Statistics (DBS), which he headed until he moved to the University of Alberta in1968. He was also instrumental in my undertaking the 1961 Census monograph study, Internal Migration in Canada. An imposing and dynamic person with super management and innovative organizational abilities, Karol Krotki actually laid the foundation for organized demographic research and studies in Statistics Canada. He was a tough tireless professional manager, who strived for high sstandards in research with meticulous attention to documentation of material and was heavily involved in and promoted demographic and census-related research and studies. He was a warm, supportive, caring and hospitable colleague. With his demise, we have lost one of the giant architects of demography in Canada. I shall miss him very much.
M.V. George, Ph.D.
130 Parkside Close
Alpharetta, Atlanta, GA 30022
Tel: (678) 240-0701
E-mail: <moolamattomgeorge@yahoo.com