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."

She added, "Even when he's not able to act in the way that the students are indicating that they would like him to, he always really listens to what students have to say and I think that makes students feel that their wants and concerns are valid," Smith said. "I think as a university one of the most important things we can do for our students is to communicate to them that we really care about what they have to say."

Students like Giavana Di Giorno, a 19-year-old sophomore psychology major from Dallas, Texas, who has worked with Kelley as a student and a residential advisor, find Kelley's open communication welcoming and fatherly. "I think he really brings a warmth to the university," Di Giorno said. "He's kinda like the ‘daddy' figure of the university."

According to Martha Mathis, the dean of students, his leadership style has made a distinctive impact upon his colleagues and the student body. "He didn't invent, he didn't endow, but the things that make a difference to those of us who report to him and inevitably students are he is a great listener, he thinks hard about how to word tough conversations," Mathis said. "I just think that not all leaders can do that."

Kelley has been inspiring in how he handles challenging situations. "He one of the most thoughtful, enthusiastic, positive, leaders that I have had the privilege of working with," Mathis said. "He has the temperament that I have learned that is absolutely necessary in times of adversity."

Kelley has left his mark upon the school in a number of ways. According to Smith, Kelley helped develop the Leadership Enrichment and Development course, a four-year program broken up into multiple leadership courses and meant to develop students into stronger leaders.

Additionally, Kelley has put in place a checklist of the steps to be taken in case of an emergency, explained Smith. This system of communication among the university staff and student body was used this fall when a car accident killed a Norwich student and injured others.

Kelley is ready to move on to the next chapter in his life and to allow Norwich to move forward as well.

"I didn't see myself doing this for the next several years so I said well it's time to figure out the third piece of our professional career," Kelley said. "I am kind of a believer also in new blood; I think it's OK for organizations to have new people come in with different ideas. I think that's healthy."

Though he does not have any current plans after his retirement in May 2012, Kelley says that he hopes to stay in the area.

"We're not going to change the essence of Norwich," Kelley said of the future of NU and the students. "The essence of Norwich is outstanding. The world is all about change and if we are training young people to be the next generation of leaders, then they need to be adaptable to change."

"So, long as he's around campus every so often I'll be OK with (his retirement)," Di Giorno said.