Professor Connell was named the Chair of the School of Business. He has been a professor of Economics and Business at Monmouth since 1992.
“I’ve invested my whole life in the success of the business and economics program; I’d like to get it up and running and pass it off to the next guy.” He explained that out of the six schools, this one is experiencing the least amount of change. “I was in charge of Business, Economics, and Accounting, and now I am in charge of Business, Economics, and Accounting,” he joked.
Connell portrait from Monmouth College Website.
Still, there is hope for expansion for majors across disciplines, including a future possibility of a major in hospital management. “The world is always changing, but this seems like a greater time for change. Liberal Arts colleges are going through all sorts of things…The only constant in life is change, and we are in the middle of a big one,” He explained.
For the past 30 years, he has overseen the department, operating mostly independently from the other departments within the school. He explained his role as department chair and now, as school chair, as like that of a manager. He believes it is a necessary job, but his real passion is teaching. “It is a lot more fun and a lot more rewarding.” Many people outside of the business school know Connell as a friendly face around campus. Holding the flag at basketball games, offering his home to students for activities, enjoying performances at Dahl Chapel, his “greatest joy is his students’ success,” he said, “At Monmouth College, the relationships don’t end on the classroom door.”
His advice for students is “Have a big outlook on life and keep all the doors open. You never know where the business opportunities may come from…If the door doesn’t open, it wasn’t your door.”