Don Sparling
Don Sparling
Thomas Donaldson Sparling was born on August 14, 1943 in Ottawa. He studied at the Universities of Toronto and Oxford. He came to the Czech Republic in 1969 as an English teacher at a state language school. In 1977, he became a lecturer in the Department of English and American Studies at Masaryk University, where he received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1983.
After the November Revolution he became head of the department and was instrumental in raising the international reputation of the department. For several years he was the leader of the student theatre company The Gypsywood Players, which staged one performance in English in Brno every year, a very daring venture considering the times, giving students the opportunity for self-realization, language and personal growth. He continues to develop the Brno theatre scene to this day - in 2017 he was one of the co-founders of the Brno English theatre company BEST, which has already had two successful seasons.
In 2000, he founded the MU Centre for International Studies, which he headed as its director until 2009. Since 2010 he has been in charge of the Brno Expat Centre, which provides assistance to foreign professionals who come to Brno to work. Don Sparling is currently responsible as a guarantor for the value of the "International City" in the Brno 2050 strategy and participates as an expert advisor in related meetings within the MMB. His activities are an integral part of the international cooperation and activities implemented in Brno.
