Associate Vice Provost Conn to Retire
February 5, 2008, Volume 54, No. 20	Print Issue

The Division of the Vice Provost for University Life (VPUL) has announced that associate vice provost for student affairs, Therese (Terry) Conn, will retire from the university, effective September 30, 2008.

Ms. Conn has served at Penn for more than two decades. After teaching English for ten years at the Curtis Institute and the (then) Philadelphia College of Art, Ms. Conn became coordinator for College House Programs at Penn in 1987. Two years later, she became executive assistant to the Vice Provost for University Life. In 1998, she was promoted to associate vice provost for university life, “where she continues to serve with extraordinary distinction, commitment, and compassion,” said Vice Provost for University Life, Dr. Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum.

“In my time here, Penn has grown into such a diverse, vibrant campus,” Ms. Conn said. “I’m honored to have worked with colleagues who embraced a shared commitment to the success of each and every student.” Ms. Conn continued, “I have enjoyed both the students and my colleagues at Penn, who have enriched the last 20 years of my life. And I have especially enjoyed working with Val Cade, whose leadership has made the Vice Provost’s office a national model for supporting students.”

Dr. McCoullum, who appointed Ms. Conn as associate vice provost a decade ago, lauded her and lamented her loss to the university community. “I’ve tried everything I could do to get her to stay. It’s hard to imagine University Life at Penn without her. She’ll be impossible to replace. Terry has been a truly incredible colleague and friend, and an extraordinary resource for Penn students. We love her dearly and wish her all the best in the years to come.”

The VPUL also announced that a national search will begin soon to find Ms. Conn’s successor. The new associate vice provost for student affairs will oversee programs and interests related to student co-curricular activities, including supervision and support of the following VPUL departments: Career Services, Civic House, Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center, NROTC, the Penn Women’s Center, Platt Performing Arts House, Student Intervention Services, and the Office of Student Life, as well as serve on a number of core University committees and student councils, such as the Tangible Change Committee.