For the past seven years she has been a staple in the Chancellor's Office, but on March 19 Dee Flaherty, assistant to Chancellor Sherry Penney, retired from her post.
In 1992, Flaherty and her husband, Bob, moved back to their hometown
after six years in New York and Connecticut. To Flaherty, only Boston
felt right. "We just had such roots in Boston," she said. "New York
just wasn't home."
She had worked for a chief justice, a union head, and an insurance
company president before her university post. Flaherty found "they
have the same needs and expectations." Flaherty recalls interviewing
with Clare Poirier, John Applebee and Mark Schlesinger. "I said I'll
guarantee you seven years if you're nice to me." She wasn't
disappointed in the people at UMass Boston.
"The people that I've worked with, they seem genuinely glad to see me
and I'm genuinely glad to see them. The friendships I've made here is
the best part." Those first impressions linger. Flaherty vividly
recalls volunteering at her first commencement here. "I saw both sons
through high school, college and graduate schools, and I never wept
at any of the graduations. And at my first UMass graduation I cried."
Flaherty said she was immediately taken by seeing families with
first-generation college students gathering to support their
graduates. "There were 10 people for each graduate," she said. "UMass
Boston was all about that… I hope they don't lose that mission.
We really are different from the others and we should celebrate
that." Flaherty said she plans to "just play," at least for the
summer, but has already volunteered to return for special projects.
"I'm probably going to miss it after a couple weeks."