At ceremonies June 13 during Saint Michael's College Reunion 2009 festivities, the Saint Michael's Alumni Association named Robert Lilly, a 1964 graduate of the college, as Alumnus of the Year. A very active member of his home community of Newcomb, N.Y., Mr. Lilly was also praised, by Saint Michael's Vice President for Institutional Advancement Patrick Gallivan, for being "always energetic, always upbeat ... a 'go-to' person for Saint Michael's College for many years."
Mr. Lilly served in the United States Air Force for 27 years, retiring at the rank of Colonel, having served in Selma, Ala., Biloxi, Miss., Westhampton, N.Y., Saigon in the Republic of Vietnam, Oklahoma City, The Pentagon, Zwiebbrucken, Germany; Great Falls, Montana, Omaha Neb., and Cheyenne, Wyo.
Mr. Lilly is currently director of information systems/technology for the county of Essex, N.Y., and executive director of the Adirondack Park Institute. He chairs the planning board in Newcomb, and is director of the New York State Local Government Information Technology Directors Association. In 2008, Bob Lilly was named Town of Newcomb Volunteer of the Year.
Mr. Lilly is a trustee of his local parish church, St. Therese, and is a member of the Diocese of Ogdensburg Development Board of advisers and Bishop's Pastoral Council.
Service to Saint Michael's College
Bob Lilly has also served his alma mater Saint Michael's College as an admission volunteer for over 20 years, attending college fairs and interviewing prospective students for the collge. He served the Saint Michael's Class of 1964 as a class agent, co-chaired their 40th reunion, has supported the college's annual fund, and serves now on the college's Alumni Board of Directors.
Robert Lilly and his wife of 46 years, Marilyn, reside in Newcomb, N.Y. They are the parents of five children and seven grandchildren.
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 368 Colleges. A liberal arts, residential, Catholic college, Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns and less than two hours from Montreal. As one of only 270 institutions nationwide with a prestigious Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus, Saint Michael's has 2,000 full-time undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 200 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and Saint Michael's professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last eight years. The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.