A Tale of Achievement

by Barbara Karlin, vice president of Academic Affairs

In the past seven years of service as dean of the Edward S. Ageno School of Business, Terry Connelly has connected GGU to the business community, become visible in the media, managed more than 15 programs, provided substantial input in university matters, increased the focus on educational quality and turned around a unit that had more than a decade of declining enrollments.

Terry came to GGU in April of 2004 after a lifetime of success in the the world of investments and financial assets. His career began in 1968 as an attorney with the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, followed by nearly 20 years with investment-banking firm Salomon Brothers, where he became managing director and chief of staff in 1987. He later served as chief executive of Cowen & Co.’s investment-banking business, then director of strategic advisory services at Ernst & Young Australia.

One of the first in his generation of 105 cousins to go to college, Connelly holds a BA from the Catholic University of America and a JD from NYU School of Law.

“In my day as a student, there were more merit-based scholarships, and it was possible for a kid like me, who had no independent means for funding college, to go to school for free. And I did. Those days are gone,” Connelly says. “So I am sensitive to the situation of people who have to work to be able to go to school and to have the ability to have a high-quality education just like the next guy, who happens to have won the economic lottery.”

For Connelly, the opportunity to serve as dean for a business school such as GGU was a culmination of a lifetime ambition. He had always known that his “capstone” was to be involved in university education.

Connelly’s data-driven approach, strategic and creative mind, and fabulous writing ability are valuable skills from which GGU benefited. It has been truly wonderful working with Connelly. GGU is better, faster and stronger due to his contribution, and for that, the school thanks him.

• Leads GGU faculty and staff toward reaching consensus around a new system-wide uniform term length — shifting our academic calendar to 16-week terms, thus allowing for our efficient 16-8-week “wrap” to be offered at both the graduate and undergraduate level
• Generates “stabilization” plans for each graduate program
• Oversees the overhaul of technology programs when ASOB absorbs the School of Technology
“My experience tells me the most valuable long-term investment anyone can make is not stocks or bonds or real estate, but higher education — which has always been the key to America’s distinctive record of economic opportunity and social mobility.”

“The key thing I know we have to offer is a real connectedness to business. The point here is that when you set foot in or log on to GGU, you’re not leaving the business world to enter an academic world. You’re staying in the business world.”

• Recommends and is instrumental in moving accounting and undergraduate programs into their own schools for greater visibility and attention
• Plays an integral role in the creation of a new full-time faculty policy manual
• Successfully advocates for the creation of a corporate outreach program
• Supports the creation of the successful Professional MBA
• Begins receiving media attention as a valuable source for business and financial insights
“Beyond a shadow of a doubt — this school is better connected to the business world than any of our competition.”

• Launches Gilead MBA cohort program
• The Ageno School of Business experiences year to year growth in the number of new students, total students and courses per term for the first time in more than 10 years
• The ASOB produces a net surplus after allocation of all expenses
• Supports innovative curricular developments: project management, certificate in sustainability and two healthcare management certificates
• Completes a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of seeking AACSB accreditation, leading to the university’s decision not to move in that direction
• Plans a key role in analysis that leads to the closure of all off-campus sites offering in-person business school programs
• Provides substantial input in the new strategic planning process

• Culmination of efforts results in a surplus of $2.8 million, a remarkable turnaround from the $3 million deficit ASOB experienced in the fiscal year ending 2006
• Becomes highly sought-after media expert
• Co-authors “Riptide: The New Normal in Higher Education,” with President Dan Angel
“I want our alumni to be proud to have our diplomas on their walls. I think of that every day. “