Mary Elizabeth Correa
Mary Elizabeth Correa, associate professor emerita in the Department of Management
and Business, died May 9, 2014, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. She was
67.
Born October 29, 1946, in New York City, Mary was the daughter of the late Mathias
F. and Louise Kennedy Correa. After graduating from Convent of the Sacred Heart, Mary
attended Boston College, where she earned a B.S. degree in nursing. She also earned
an M.S.N. in psychiatric nursing at the Yale University School of Nursing. In her
first career, she spent more than two decades as a clinical nurse specialist at the
Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale New Haven Hospital, the University of Cincinnati
College of Nursing and Health, and the Rush University College of Nursing.
In 1989 she became a senior associate at Edge Associates and began working on a Ph.D.
degree at the Krannert Graduate School of Management at Purdue University. She completed
the degree in 1991 and joined the Skidmore faculty that year.
Her teaching responsibilities included courses in organizational behavior, leadership,
comparative management, and organizational theory and design.
Department Chair Tim Harper was Mary’s office neighbor and longtime colleague in the
department’s signature course, MB 107. He called her “pivotal in the continuation
of the leadership MB 107 model” in which older students mentored and helped younger
students with the rigorous course. Harper said a highlight each year, was the executive
presentations for MB 107, in which students made their final presentations. Typically
the attendance at this event includes fellow students, stakeholders, parents, alumni,
faculty, and friends of the college. Said Tim, “This is where Mary was at her best,
entertaining guests, welcoming them, introducing them, extending networks.” Mary and
Tim developed and launched MB 240, a course on coaching and leadership theory pertinent
for the MB 107 student teams.
Longtime department colleague Marty Canavan, associate professor emeritus, noted that
Mary’s “highest priority, first and foremost, was her students.”
Upon Mary’s retirement in 2009, then-chair Christine Page wrote Mary’s retirement
citation, in which she recalled, “Mary embraced the passion of Skidmore with enthusiasm,
energy, and great joy.”
Beyond the department, Mary contributed to the founding of the College’s International
Affairs Program in the mid-1990s, and brought to the program “a continuous love for
international learning,” according to Christine.
Mary was also a passionate supporter of the MALS program and mentored new faculty
in her department.
In the community, Mary served on the board of directors of Saratoga Bridges (formerly
the ARC), including a term as its president. Her focus while on the board was helping
to develop the organization’s first strategic plan, navigating the change in organizational
name, and initiating an agency leadership plan to cultivate future leaders in the
field of supporting individuals living with developmental disabilities.
Mary was an avid athlete who loved ice dancing, tennis, skiing, and hiking. Marty
remembered her passion for ice dancing. “She was a strong skater and followed ice
dancing closely, including traveling to Boston, Montreal, and Philadelphia to rendezvous
with fellow ice dancers.”
Mary is survived by two sisters, Anne Correa and Louise (Eric) Newland, and nieces
Abigail Aglubat and Chloe Newland.