2005 Distinguished Service Award

Ann Conser Curley ’63

When Ann Conser Curley accepted her diploma from Dickinson in 1963, it certainly was not the end of her involvement with the college.

Her extensive service to Dickinson beyond graduation includes:

• Member of the Dickinson College Alumni Council, 1983-89, with a three-year role as president. 
• Co-chair of the Major Donor Committee of Dickinson’s Capital Campaign in 1985. 
• Service as the alumni representative on the editorial advisory board for Dickinson Today and the Dickinson Magazine. 
• Extensive service as member and chair of the Class Reunion Committee. 
• Member of the Dickinson College Board of Advisors, 1995-2001. 
• Lifetime membership in the Mary Dickinson Club. 

Curley’s active involvement and dedication to the college stems back to her days on campus. While at Dickinson, she showed enthusiasm for numerous activities, serving as a member of nine campus organizations. Throughout her four years, Curley showed a flair for a wide range of artistic and intellectual involvements, including membership in Phi Mu, Pi Delta Epsilon, Alpha Psi Omega, The Dickinsonian, Microcosm, the Mermaid Players, Wheel & Chain and Phi Beta Kappa.

And now for more than 40 years, the English major and her husband and chairperson of Dickinson’s board of trustees, John Curley ’60, together have contributed extensively to the college in support of teaching and scholarship. As a tribute to the Dickinson professors who inspired them as undergraduates, the Curleys established the first John J. Curley ’60 and Ann Conser Curley ’63 Faculty Chair in 2002. In addition to that generous gift, the Curleys provided for the establishment of two more chairs in 2004—one in international business & management and the other in global education.

Along with those contributions, the Curleys have supported the college in the creation of the Ann Curley Scholarship, the John Curley Scholarship and the Curley Endowment for Faculty-Student Research.

Aside from her Dickinson involvement, Curley pursued her journalistic talents professionally as a columnist for The Associated Press, a features editor for The Trentonian in New Jersey and as a freelance writer. In addition to her active professional life and service to Dickinson, Curley is a member of the Board of Directors and executive committee secretary for The Metropolitan Washington Ear Inc., which provides free services for the blind, visually impaired and physically disabled who cannot read print.

A lifelong learner, Curley earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2001. She resides in Potomac, Md., with her husband. Together, they remain dedicated to the growth of the Dickinson community.