Kelley retires after 9 years

Rounding out his ninth year at Norwich, Brigadier General Michael B. Kelley announced his retirement as commandant of cadets and vice president of student affairs, but not his retirement as a part of the school.

"People think you're going to put Norwich in your rearview mirror and are going to (forget it)," Kelley said. "But no, for everyone who gets it, it's a big part of (you). You'll want to come back and interact."

Kelley hopes to stay in the local area and continue to be a part of the university he is deeply connected to.

Though currently donning the Vermont State Militia uniform, Kelley served a full educational and military career. As the son of a World War II veteran and a relative to other servicemen, Kelley was raised with a respect for the military.

However, despite accepting an Army ROTC scholarship to pay for college, Kelley was unsure if he would stay in the military after his obligatory term with the scholarship was over.

Kelley said he chose to come to Norwich with his Army ROTC scholarship after feeling "comfortable" during his overnight visit. "I can still remember having my visit," Kelley said of a defining experience is his life. "I came up on a bus and got dropped off at the gate."

Kelley graduated in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. "I did not go active right away," Kelley said. He took a reserve commission and went to graduate school.

After earning a master's degree in environmental engineering at Purdue University, Kelley retook his oath and entered his full-length military career.

He served a wide variety of positions including as commander and operations officer in Germany; a member of the staff of health services in San Antonio, Texas; with the Army environmental agency; and as a troop leader or a "muddy boot soldier" in regime at Ft. Hood, Texas.

The majority of his military career has been in academia. He earned a doctorate degree in environmental engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, while serving as a professor at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

While Kelley was teaching at West Point, his eldest daughter, a sophomore cadet at Norwich at the time, suggested he apply for a newly opened position at NU. Kelley was hired as commandant of cadets and vice president of student affairs by President Richard W. Schneider.

"General Kelley has done a masterful job at being steady," Schneider said. "He never gets mad, he never yells, he's always thoughtful, he's fair, (and) those were the things I was looking for because those are the things (students) need."

Schneider said he was impressed by Kelley's unique experience as a military career man and a faculty member at a military institution. "The thing that impressed me was certainly his 30-year (military) career," Schneider said, "but, also, that he was a faculty member (and) that he has the heart of a faculty member."

According to Schneider, Kelley took on the "pressure cooker of a job" with a forewarning of the responsibility involved. "When he came here I told him, ‘You are about 200 yards closer to the UP (Upper Parade Ground) than I am. If there is a problem you better get up there before I do, or at least 200 yards in front of me,'" Schneider said.

Accepting the job meant Kelley took on great responsibilities often overlooked by the public, according to Kelly Smith, the executive secretary to the vice president of student affairs and the commandant of cadets.

"Those two positions being rolled into one is a huge job," Smith said. According to Smith, Kelley's scope of responsibility covered the counseling center, the athletic department, resident life, religious services, the corps of cadets and the infirmary.

Throughout his career, Kelley has been greatly influenced by his family, often referring to his decisions in terms of "we" referring to his family. "That's why I say we," Kelley said, referring to his family as well as himself in the decision to accept the position at Norwich. "I've got the job, but it's a family thing."

As one of the 10 alumni, including his wife and four of his five children, in his maroon-and-gold-clad family, Kelley has had experience with both of Norwich's lifestyles.

"This gang couldn't be more maroon and gold," Schneider said. It is from his in-depth insight as the father of both civilian and corps students that Kelley understands the way corps and civilian students interact, according to Schneider.

"Because he's been a dad of both corps kids and civilian kids I think it positioned him very well to understand the two cultures we have here," said Schneider, who gave the order in 1993 to move the civilian students to the main campus.

Schneider says Kelley contributed to improvements between the two lifestyles. "I think that under his vice presidency," Schneider said, "we have made more improvement in the working relationships between the regiment and the civilian students than I've ever had."

"I think that the relationship between the corps and civilians has improved," said Colonel Rick Van Arnam, the new commandant of cadets. "We still have a ways to go, but I think that history is going to look back and say that his time here a lot of great strides were made."

"(Working with Kelley) has been wonderful, he has been a great mentor," Smith said, who has worked as his secretary for four of her six years at NU. "The way that he interacts with students is amazing."

Smith views Kelley's open door policy for students and how he communicates with them as a role model for how she interacts with students. "He's always made (the students) his top priority no matter what else is going on in the university and seeing the way that he interacts with them has been a role model for me and how I frame my interactions with students."

According to Smith, Kelley has always been open to input from the student body. "His willingness to accept and consider student feedback on a multitude of issues has been very positive for the student body and the university as a whole," Smith said. "He doesn't just ask for input; he listens to it and considers it."