Making Scribner House their new home

With a U-Haul trailer in tow, Skidmore President-elect Marc C. Conner and his wife, Barbara Reyes-Conner, drove away from their home in Virginia a little before 8 a.m. on Friday, June 26, to embark on the next monumental chapter of their lives.

When they pulled up to Scribner House shortly after 9:30 that night — a nearly 14-hour road trip behind them — any fatigue that had set in was suddenly swept aside by excitement and anticipation. The Conners graciously greeted a small welcoming committee on the front lawn of the historic North Broadway home before being handed their new house keys by Campus Safety Sgt. Ed Reardon.

“We were in that car for a long time,” said President-elect Conner. “It’s good to be here.”

Conner, who officially assumed his new role as president of Skidmore College on July 1 upon the retirement of outgoing President Philip A. Glotzbach, comes to Skidmore from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he most recently served as provost and Ballengee Professor of English. He has described himself as a highly collaborative leader who seeks to further serve Skidmore’s mission of providing an exceptional liberal arts education, and he has long been an advocate of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

On the way up to Saratoga Springs, the Conners made a stop in Maryland to visit one of their three sons, and the couple shared another memorable moment as they approached the final leg of their journey. “We were coming out of New Jersey and into New York and we looked at the GPS and saw we had about 2 1/2 hours left to go, and we looked at each other and said, ‘This is our new home,’ ” Conner recounted. They smiled again at the realization.

After marveling at their new residence — all lit up from within — from their new street, in their new community, they eagerly walked up the front steps to take a tour, enjoy their first order-in Saratoga Springs pizza and get acclimated.

“We are so excited to be here,” Conner said.