A standing ovation was given to Interim President Marge Connelly this Tuesday, March 26 at the formal announcement event for President-Elect W. Taylor Reveley IV.
Marianne Radcliff, rector of the Board of Visitors, thanked Connelly for her service to the university.
“In just the few short months, President Connelly has moved Longwood forward in so many ways,” Radcliff said.
“She has inspired faculty and staff to think about different ways of doing business that have brought significant benefits to students as well as the university’s bottom line,” continued Radcliff. ”Her contributions will be remembered, and she leaves Longwood in fantastic shape for our new president, and for that, we will always be tremendously grateful. We were very lucky to have her talents.”
Before her time as interim president, Connelly served as Financial Services Executive for the university and served as rector for the Board of Visitors for eight years. Beginning her time as interim president on July 1, 2012, Connelly’s position will end on June 1 with the presidential transition of Reveley.
While welcoming Reveley at the announcement event, Connelly said, “In a million years, I couldn’t have dreamed of having such a wonderful experience, and I jokingly say that this is going to be the only job I’ve ever had where I’m going to leave it feeling younger than when I started.”
Born in Horseheads, N.Y., Connelly earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Delaware, while joking that she also majored in “rabble- rousing.”
“This was particularly true when I was going to school in Washington, D.C., but part of what was, I think, attractive about political science was action, political action and really being personally involved and out there demonstrating, and as a younger person, that was both a lot of fun, but also very rewarding in terms of feeling like I was doing my best with what I had at the time to make a difference,” said Connelly.
In the past, Connelly worked for Capital One Financial Services from 1995 to 2006 before rising to executive vice president, served as chief operating officer for Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo Advisors) from 2006 to 2008 and eventually served as global chief operating officer for Barclaycard from July 2009 to December 2011. In her positions, Connelly oversaw information technology and operations management as well as cultivated relationships with business, government and community leaders, according to the Longwood website.
Connelly has two children with her partner, Julie Christopher.
Diane Easter, special assistant to the president and director of Events & Ceremonies, said, “I think she kept Longwood moving in the right direction. She got us thinking about creative new ways to do things and find solutions to problems that we had for years.”
“I think she got us to agree on strategic priorities that guided the campus for this year, and we’ll still have in place next year, and they were things everybody could agree should be the priorities for us strategically, and I think really just keeping us pulled together and moving. It wasn’t a stagnant time. We really did make progress,” added Easter.
Connelly said, “I think in many ways I was just able to be a catalyst to lots of amazing talent that exists here. One of the things that makes this such a delight is I get to work with really fabulous people, and being able to just help them channel those talents and channel those energies in a positive way I think has created some pretty good things.”
Dr. Kenneth Perkins, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, said that under Connelly’s leadership, “It’s been extraordinarily productive ... I feel like I’ve never worked harder, but it’s been very rewarding.”
During her time as interimpresident, Connelly stated that she focused most on student success.
“Ensuringthatour students graduate in a timely fashion with the competencies and the experience that they need to really go out and get good jobs and have a good life and make a meaningful contribution to their community. That is number one. That is what it is first and foremost about.”
Dr. Tim Pierson, vice president for Student Affairs, said, “When you’ve been around a very, very bright dynamic leader like Marge Connelly, it’s really a privilege. We were very privileged, very fortunate Longwood was, to have her these few months as our interim president. She got things done that the community here has been waiting for that kind of leadership to take the initiative, to get things done, to empower people to make a difference here, to make decisions that move us forward, to look at ourselves strategically and not passively.”
“In today’s market, Longwood has to be moving forward,” Pierson said. “Standing still, you’re going behind, and so, I think she was very forward-thinking, very challenging and seemed to always know what the right question was to ask.”
“I’ll never forget Marge Connelly. I think she is probably the most challenging leader I ever had, very supportive of me personally, professionally in every way,” reflected Pierson.
Speaking on Longwood University, Connelly said, “The way I’d describe Longwood is that it provides to students with literally a transformational experience, and that experience is different for almost every student ... what I think Longwood is great at is providing actually a wide, wide range of opportunities so that every student, no matter who they are, their unique needs, their unique strengths, they can find a path to that transformational experience I think in a way that no other university in the Commonwealth can.”
Dr. Derek Taylor, vice chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and professor of English, said, "We should all be incredibly grateful to Interim President Marge Connelly because it is a rare thing that she has accomplished. She is leaving Longwood a better place than she found it and that is no mean feat if you think about how all that unfolded."
Kasey Haddock, student representative for the Board of Visitors and webmaster and publicity chair for the Student Government Association, said, “President Connelly, although you have only been here a short time, you have definitely left your mark on Longwood. Thank you for your dedication, passion, service, spirit and commitment to our school. You have been a wonderful part of our family for the last year. As the time is coming to a close, I say thank you. Thank you and I wish you nothing but the best. You are leaving Longwood in great hands for President Reveley.”
Connelly said, “I’m just really focused on a personal level, enjoying every level I can with students, with faculty, with staff, with our external constituents, and then really focused on making it as smooth a transition as possible.”
At the formal event, Reveley said, “My thanks to Marge. We are going to work together, cheek to jowl, to keep the momentum going.”
Before leaving the stage at the formal announcement event and after welcoming Reveley to Longwood, Connelly said, “I’m looking forward to the next few months making this a great transition.”
For now, Connelly is unsure of what the future will hold for her but is confident in wherever it will lead her.
Connelly thanked everyone in the Longwood community, especially students.
“This has been an amazingly rewarding experience for me, and I got to work with all kinds of people in my professional career and business would not have been able to work with, but probably the one that has brought me the most joy is the opportunities I have had to work with students.”
“I’m a believer in serendipity,” Connelly said. “I have a great deal of confidence that everything happens for a reason. It’s each person’s responsibility to kind of put themselves out there and be ready and open to those things when they come by, but I do believe that the right things happen, and so I don’t know what that is yet, but I’m totally confident that that will be the case.”
