LONGTIME DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI AFFAIRS KELLY RIMMER ACCEPTS NEW ROLE AT PENN STATE
April 2024 — After more than twenty-three years of service to Penn State Dickinson Law, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs Kelly Rimmer has been selected for a newly created role as senior director of development in Penn State’s Office of Principal Gifts. Kelly will join a team led by Senior Assistant Vice President for Principal Gifts Tina Hennessey to engage donors and encourage support for campaign initiatives and top programmatic priorities at the University, to include those at Dickinson Law. Kelly will begin her new role on April 15 and will offer support, guidance, and leadership to Dickinson Law’s development efforts during the transition to a unified law school.
Kelly’s legacy at Dickinson Law is marked by her devotion to its alumni and friends and her commitment to nurturing those relationships while advancing the Law School’s vision and mission through its journey of evolution and change. Prior to her appointment as director of development and alumni affairs in 2009, Kelly served as director of marketing, communications, and alumni relations. Through her efforts to cultivate relationships and build a more robust culture of philanthropy, she supported and then led Dickinson Law in three University-wide campaigns that generated more than $63.5 million and helped to more than double the Law School’s pre-merger endowment.
During the last campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, Kelly and her team partnered with Emeritus Dean Gary Gildin to secure more Graduate Scholarship Matching Program scholarships than any other Penn State unit (23 new scholarships resulting in a $7.7 million impact to the endowment — a 15-month effort that nearly doubled the number of individual gifts at or above $125,000 in the Law School’s history) and helped Dean Danielle M. Conway to launch the Antiracist Development Institute. In recognition of her contributions to Dickinson Law, Kelly received Penn State’s Division of Development & Alumni Relations Diversity and Inclusion Award and Dickinson Law’s Phillip M. Scott Excellence in Leadership Award.
Kelly shared the following message with the Penn State Dickinson Law community
“When Emeritus Dean Peter Glenn welcomed me as a development assistant in 2000, I never imagined how this community would help to shape the person and professional I am today. Dickinson Law — and each of you — will forever be home to me. As hard as it is to leave a place that I value and know so well, I’m looking forward to collaborating with colleagues to impact innovation and excellence across the University. I’m excited for the future of the reunified Penn State Dickinson Law, and I will embrace continued opportunities to advance and elevate the great work being done by Dean Conway, alumni leaders, staff, faculty, and students.”
Please join the Penn State Dickinson Law community in thanking Kelly for her contributions to the Law School and in wishing her well as she pursues this new journey at Penn State. Email Kelly.
Lt. Gen. (RET) Christopher F. Burne ’83, Col. (RET) Robin Pond Burne, Kelly Rimmer, and Jared Rimmer celebrated Penn State Dickinson Law’s 185th Founding Anniversary in 2019.
Kelly Rimmer (front row, center) with Penn State Dickinson Law faculty, staff and students after presenting during the first Race and the Equal Protection of the Laws (REPL) class of the 2023-2024 academic year.
Left to right, Kelly Rimmer, Kevin Steele ’92, Associate Dean Laura Williams ’90, and Laddie Montague Jr. ’63 at the 2022 Penn State Alumni Fellow Award Ceremony during which Montague was inducted as a Fellow.
Penn State Dickinson Law Dean Danielle M. Conway and Kelly Rimmer, a frequent pairing at law school donor appreciation events. Above, Dean Conway and Kelly teamed up to induct new members of The John Reed Society at the Law School’s Annual Donor Recognition Dinner (2023). Below, Dean Conway and Kelly recognize donors who raised $16.9 million for Dickinson Law in Penn State’s last campaign (2022).
Left to right, Kelly Rimmer, Associate Dean Laura Williams ’90, Mike Gang ’77, Dean Conway, and Hubert Gilroy ’79 toast to the end of the A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence campaign, during which the Law School exceeded its goal under Kelly’s leadership.
Penn State’s Interim Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Dave Lieb (far left) recognized Penn State Dickinson Law with the Division of Development and Alumni Relations (DDAR) Teamwork and Collaboration Award in 2023. Kelly Rimmer (fourth from left) and Robin Langhans (center) accepted the award on behalf of the Law School.
Left to right, former Campaign Chair Dusty Elias Kirk ’79, Kelly Rimmer, Dean Conway, Hubert Gilroy ’79, and Jared Rimmer gather for the Annual Donor Recognition Dinner (2019).
Left to right: Connie Falvello ’74, Kelly Rimmer, Kathy Pape ’78, and Bob Trinkle ’76 at Penn State’s 2024 Mt. Nittany Society Dinner, honoring those whose cumulative lifetime giving to Penn State has reached or exceeded $250,000 in irrevocable commitments.