Cabrini College has a new vice president for enrollment management. He started his position in July. Dennis Kelly, who has over 30 years of educational experience, is one of the last two people appointed by President Marie Angelella George to form the new leadership team.
Kelly, who was born and raised in Atlantic City, now lives in Northampton County, Pa. with his wife, Susan, and three children, Erin, Meaghan and Kevin.
“My family keeps me busy. They all play sports and are involved in music and art and are very active in the church,” Kelly said.
He is a very family-oriented man.
Some of Kelly’s hobbies outside of work include golfing and swimming. “I’m from the shore so at this time of year give me ocean water and I’ll be there,” Kelly said.
Kelly also admitted that he used to sing professionally.
“When I was a college assistant professor, I would teach marketing classes during the week and on weekends, I would work at some of the better restaurants in New York City for weddings and corporate events. Starting with my days as a student, I continued to do this throughout my college career,” Kelly said.
Kelly enlisted in the Army during the Vietnam War Era at the age of 19 in 1974. The Army trained Kelly in accounting and finance. However, when he went overseas, he was retrained to do surveillance and security work. “I was assigned to a full-fledged colonel who eventually became a one-star general, and everywhere he went, I went,” Kelly said.
Kelly never went to the country of Vietnam but was stationed in Germany. When the war in Vietnam ended, Kelly played the college equivalent of basketball in Europe for the Third Armored Division. As part of that team, Kelly traveled throughout Europe playing against other military and international professional teams. Kelly stated that he will always remember being a part of a winning team as it was a nice way to depart from his service in Europe.
“When my three children review my military records and achievements, it makes me feel proud. I’m glad that we are living in a time right now where folks are proud of people in the military,” Kelly said.
After leaving the service, Kelly transferred to Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, where he completed both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He took advantage of every opportunity and engaged himself in many activities, including the theater.
“When I was in college, I noticed that the theater productions always seemed to involve the same people, and I wanted to break that mold and be involved as well. I experienced everything I could in college. I was in student government, I was an RA, I worked for the school newspaper, and I was a disc jockey on the school’s radio station, while also being a student athlete. I wanted to show that actors could be athletes and athletes could be actors,” Kelly said. Kelly proved that one individual could do whatever they wanted to get the most out of their college experience.
When asked about the new job at Cabrini, Kelly had nothing but great things to say about the college and its community. Kelly likes Cabrini first and foremost because it is a Catholic college. Kelly strongly believes in Cabrini’s mission and core values, as they relate to Justice Matters.
“Why choose Cabrini College? You know, today in the area of enrollment management, everyone talks about value. They talk about the money you are going to pay for tuition versus the investment. There are not, however, a lot of colleges with strong core values embedded within the value. Colleges may educate you well, but they might not teach you how to become a better person or a global citizen. That is what the ‘Education of the Heart’ is all about,” Kelly said.
Kelly is very confident that his tenure at Cabrini will be mutually beneficial to the college and himself. “I love the student body already because they have already reached out to me, and I feel very comfortable here. I love the campus. I have been very successful throughout my career, and I plan to bring those successes here to Cabrini College,” Kelly said.
