It is with sadness that we share the news that Carol S. Kelly, EdD, Professor Emeritus, Child and Adolescent Development, passed away on February 17 following a brief illness. Since she began her career with CSUN in 1969, she was a vibrant teacher and dedicated mentor to many students, committed to helping them discover their strengths, and find new opportunities. The Child and Adolescent Development Alumni Chapter held a remembrance gathering on February 25 to honor her life.
Read about the event in CSUN Today.
About Carol Kelly: Since she began her career with CSUN in 1969, she was a vibrant teacher and dedicated mentor to many students, committed to helping them discover their strengths, and find new opportunities.
She continued to reach out to students in her retirement to help them succeed. Dr. Kelly re-established the department’s alumni chapter in 2005. The following year, she established the Carol S. Kelly Endowment Scholarship to propel CADV students toward graduate degree programs.
She had a strong dedication to peace, and because of her, CSUN had its first Peace Expo in 1989. Among several international commitments, she represented the US at the International Federation of Educative Communities (FICE) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
A strong desire to see to the well-being of children and families led her to advocate for others. She spoke out internationally against child labor and exploitation, and, locally, built relationships across campus to create paths for students to find the resources—and people—they would need to help them throughout their degree programs and into their careers.
Her history is admirable and inspiring. Child and Adolescent Development Department Chair David Wakefield said, “She was vigorously active in our alumni association chapter and remained a prominent leader in the field even after her official retirement from CSUN in 2007. In fact, just this past August she received the Lifetime Professional Achievement Award from the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice at their annual meeting in Vienna. The College of HHD featured Carol and her award in a story in November.”
We will miss her energetic, caring and motivating presence.
Sp2017
Jean O'Sullivan
Read about the remembrance event in CSUN Today, or continue reading. The article also appears below:
CSUN Celebrates Carol Kelly with Alumni Gathering
Carol S. Kelly, a professor emeritus at California State University, Northridge’s Department of Child and Adolescent Development (CADV), passed away on Feb. 17 following a brief illness. On Feb. 25, CSUN’s CADV Alumni Chapter hosted a remembrance gathering in honor of Kelly’s life and accomplishments in the Lake View Terrace at the University Student Union.
Kelly brought CSUN its first Peace Expo in 1989, laid the foundation for what the CADV department is today, re-established the CADV department’s alumni chapter in 2005 and established the Carol S. Kelly Endowment Scholarship in 2006.
She also received numerous awards: the CSUN Alumni Association’s Dean Ed Peckham Award in 2009, the Don Dorsey Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2014 and the Lifetime Professional Achievement Award from the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice in 2016.
At the memorial service, scheduled guest speakers such as Kelly’s former student, Vivian Tamkin, and David Wakefield, chair of the CADV department, both said they would not be where they are today if it weren’t for Kelly.
“Dr. Kelly and I would meet regularly and talk about how to get me into a rigorous and well-established Ph.D. program,” Tamkin said. “She helped me shape a legacy for myself.”
Wakefield shared similar sentiments. He said Kelly was the reason he chose to work at CSUN, and that she was always working on something significant.
“I remember coming to interview at CSUN,” Wakefield said. “From the moment I met Carol, I realized ‘this is the place I want to be.’ We joked in the department that Carol would never retire. There was always something she was working on – and it was always something meaningful and impactful.”
Kelly had a long, meaningful life and will be dearly missed. Kelly once said that her passion was to make the world a better place for children, youth and families – and according to her colleagues, friends and mentees, she did just that.
An attendee of her memorial said: “Dr. Kelly is the warmest, most intelligent person I have ever met. I say ‘is’ because she will always live in my heart.”
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Natalie L. Camacho/CSUN Today