2 minute read
Dianne Donnelley
Dianne
DONNELLEY
Dianne Donnelly is head over heels for teaching. At MSU, she flew through the ranks from Director of the Freshman Seminar, to Advising Director of General Studies and then on to Director of General Studies. Donnelly’s career with MSU lasted over thirty years, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way. As she explains, “This is an area where I’m exposed to all kinds of intellectual ideas. I just feel like I had the greatest job in the world.”
Donnelly runs into her former students constantly, however; they’re teachers, doctors, lawyers and physical therapists now. According to Donnelly, her work with MSU aims to give students, “the resources to figure out who they are and what they want to do.” The liberal studies program allows students to put together courses from across the whole campus. While getting her masters degree, Donnelly was raising two teenagers and working full time. Only taking one class a semester, it took her five years to complete. Now, she works part time in the department she once directed. Luckily for her, she gets to spend ninety percent of her time with students, whereas being a director she was only face to face interacting with and assisting her students ten percent of the time. Aside from MSU, Donnelly is involved with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, or OLLI, as well as ROC Wheels Inc. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute provides intellectually stimulating and enjoyable programs for individuals fifty years of age and older. The program fosters community engagement and encourages lifelong learning. ROC Wheels Inc. provides adaptive wheelchairs for children with severe disabilities. Donnelly has served on the advisory council for ROC Wheels over the last seven months. for her community efforts beyond MSU came as a shock to Donnelly. However, those close to Dianne say she is, “a true student advocate.” Being an advocate for your community, whether it be advocating for students, for those with disabilities or for those who’re lacking resources, is a noble pursuit. Donnelly advocates for all, and recognizes that the community around her is trying to do the same. “This community just steps up and does stuff,” says Donnelly. In her free time, Donnelly likes to quilt and attend events at The Ellen. She says her strongest friendships come from quilting and from her work at MSU.
