RU History

Sylvester L. McConnell

Sylvester L. McConnell was hired as Treasurer of Radford College in 1920, taking the responsibilities over from Dr. McConnell's secretary. In his 37 years with Radford, the school grew from a physical plant of 1.3 buildings and a heating plant to 17 major buildings, 2 under construction and one in the planning stage.  The Grapurchat credited him with originating the practice of organizing the college's business affairs around the state budget system.  McConnell managed to avoid deficit spending even during the Great Depression and periods of inflationary spending.

A distant relation of the college's first president, McConnell relinquished his duties as Treasurer in 1947, serving as Business Manager until his retirement in 1957.

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