Emory Employee Honored for 50 years of Service at Oxford College

Pictured left to right: Dean Stephen Bowen, Sheilah Conner, and Hugh M. Tarbutton Jr., chair of the Oxford College Board of Counselors.

On Friday, September 19, Oxford College employee Sheilah Conner was recognized for her exemplary fifty years of service to the college. A group of approximately 100 members of Oxford’s faculty, staff, and Board of Counselors gathered to honor Sheilah.  She was presented with a framed resolution, passed by the Board of Counselors in recognition of her service, a plaque from President Wagner on behalf of the university, and a crystal Tiffany bowl.

“Sheilah has set an all-time record for length of service to Oxford College, but it is the quality of her service that deserves special recognition,” says Dean Stephen Bowen. “She is a model of professional initiative and self-directed learning—she began in the age of manual typewriters and now is adept at all Emory’s major accounting and personnel systems.  The six deans she has supported and many others owe their success in no small measure to Sheilah’s competence, resourcefulness, discretion, and cheerfulness.  Her connections are broad, and she has touched the lives of many across campus and across the years.”

In 1965, Sheilah began her career at Oxford in the office of the registrar when she was just out of high school. Her talents were quickly recognized and she was promoted into the position of assistant to the dean where she has since served six different deans. She currently serves as executive administrative assistant to Dean Stephen Bowen.  Her duties include balancing the dean’s schedule, coordinating communication between Oxford and the Atlanta campus, and overseeing most of Oxford's official functions. Throughout her career, Sheilah has seen numerous changes, from the growth of the college to technological advances and has become Oxford's institutional memory.
Congratulations Sheilah!