Kathleen S. Connell | |
---|---|
Secretary of State of Rhode Island | |
In office 1987–1993 | |
Preceded by | Susan Farmer |
Succeeded by | Barbara Leonard |
Personal details | |
Born | May 24,1937 |
Political party | Democratic |
Kathleen Sullivan Connell (born May 24,1937) is an American former politician from the state of Rhode Island. She was the Secretary of State of Rhode Island between 1987 and 1993.
Connell was born on May 24,1937,in Newport,Rhode Island. Her parents were Laurence Sullivan and Margaret Sullivan (née Brynes). [1] She attended St. Mary’s School and St. Catherine Academy. [2] She received a bachelors of science degree in nursing from Salve Regina College in 1958,graduating magna cum laude . [1] [2] She completed graduate studies at Boston College,the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. She married Gerald Connell in 1960 and the couple had three children:Laurence,Margaret and Kathleen. [1] Connell worked as a registered nurse from 1970 to 1986. [1]
Connell was a delegate at the 1984 Democratic National Convention and the following year,she was appointed to the Democratic National Committee and became a member of the Women's Democratic Caucus. [1] She started her political career as a member of the Middletown,Rhode Island school committee,where she served for 13 years,and the Middletown town council.[ citation needed ] She served one term in the Rhode Island Senate in the 48th district,being elected in 1983 and serving until 1984,before running for Secretary of State. [3]
She was the Secretary of State of Rhode Island between 1987 and 1993. [4] During her State Office position,one of her most noteworthy achievements was saving historical records in the Rhode Island state capitol's basement.[ citation needed ] After leaving office,she worked as the Rhode Island Director of AARP. [5] Connell was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2010,and is a 2013 recipient of the Isabelle Ahearn O'Neill Award. [2] [6]
Paulina Wright Davis was an American abolitionist,suffragist,and educator. She was one of the founders of the New England Woman Suffrage Association.
Arlene Violet is an American politician. She was a religious sister in the Sisters of Mercy and Attorney General of Rhode Island 1985–1987. She was the first female Attorney General elected in the United States.
Elizabeth Buffum Chace was an American activist in the anti-slavery,women's rights,and prison reform movements of the mid-to-late 19th century.
Wilma Briggs was an American left fielder in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League who played from 1948 through 1954. Listed at 5' 4",138 lb.,she batted left-handed and threw right-handed. She led the league in home runs during the 1953 season,ranks second in the all-time home runs list (43) behind Eleanor Callow (55) and over Dorothy Schroeder (42) and Jean Geissinger (41),and was one of only 14 players to collect 300 or more career runs batted in,yet she was never selected to the All-Star team. Briggs was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2013.
Florence Kerins Murray was a high-ranking officer in the Women's Army Corps,the first female state senator in Rhode Island,the first female judge in Rhode Island and the first female member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
Katharine Gibbs (1863–1934) was the founder of Gibbs College,which became a for-profit institution of higher education.
Susan L. Farmer was an American politician,media executive and television personality.
Helen Adelia Metcalf was a founder and director of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence,Rhode Island.
Sarah Elizabeth Doyle was an American educator and educational reformer,noted for her roles in founding the Rhode Island School of Design and establishing women's education at Brown University.
Victoria Lederberg was a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1993 to 2002. Before her appointment,Lederberg was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1974 to 1983 and the Rhode Island Senate from 1985 to 1991. In 2003,she was posthumously inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame is a non-profit,volunteer organization that recognizes those who have brought credit,prominence,or contributions to the heritage or history of Rhode Island.
Mary Tucker Thorp (1899–1974) was a teacher,educator and school principal at the Rhode Island College. She chaired the committee which investigated and made recommendations for accreditation standards for preschool education and which were adopted in the State Board of Education Codes in 1954. She was the first Distinguished Professor of Rhode Island College and both the first residence hall and a Professorship at the school are named in her honor. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1969.
Joseph Henry Gainer was an American politician who served as the 26th mayor of Providence,Rhode Island. He served seven terms,from 1913 until 1927.
Isabelle Ahearn O'Neill was a stage and screen actor of the silent film era,a suffragist,and the first woman elected to the Rhode Island Legislature. She also served in the state Senate and,under President Franklin Roosevelt,in the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame was established in the State of Rhode Island in 1965.
Margaret F. Ackroyd was a civil servant from Providence,Rhode Island. Ackroyd was named the Providence Journal's Man of the Year in 1971,and she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1972.
Anna Tucker was a civil servant and administrator who served as the director of the Division of Women and Children,and,later,the Director of Elderly Affairs for the state of Rhode Island. She also served as Director of the National Association of State Units on Aging and served on the board of directors for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and on the Rhode Island Women's Commission. She was inducted in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1981. The Anna Tucker Women's Athletic Scholarship at the University of Rhode Island was named in her honor.
Rose Weaver is an American actress,singer,director and writer in Rhode Island. Weaver is described as a "major figure in Rhode Island entertainment," and she is known for her role in the film Poetic Justice.
Martha Lucy Rawlings Tootell was an American schoolteacher and politician who served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. She represented District 52 from 1973 until 1977.
Margaret A. Mahoney was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. She held a number of political positions and served in the state's House and Senate and was the first Democratic woman elected to the Ohio Senate and the first woman majority leader of the chamber. Mahoney was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1978.