Michael Connolly has been selected to serve in the endowed McCain Executive-in-Residence in Entrepreneurship position, beginning the 2019-2020 academic year.

Connolly currently is the founder and CEO of Atlas Digital Partners, an online marketing provider. In 2014, he co-founded Silicon Y’All, the premier event in the Southeast for SaaS and Internet CEOs. He has extensive experience with entrepreneurship, starting over 15 successful companies, including American Express Tax and Business Service, Great Clips Regional Companies, Jamba Juice Midwest, and ElderCarelink.com.

For the 2019 fall semester, Connolly is teaching Entrepreneurial Thinking, in which students are assigned a group to develop their own business. With an office in the Harbert Building, which houses all business-related courses, Connolly is able to provide mentorship to students outside of class as well.

“Entrepreneurship pulls on a lot of threads from a liberal arts education – math, history, government, philosophy,” said Connolly. “I try to impart to students how entrepreneurship can be all walks of life, whether it be spiritual, political, or cultural.”

Connolly will be teaching a leadership course in the spring semester, a skill that he sees as one of the most foundational needs for success in business.

This position, which was originally created in fall of 2016, was made possible by a $500,000 contribution from David O. “Dave” McCain III and his sister, Susan C. McCain.

The donors established this position in honor of their parents, David O. McCain II and Christine D. McCain, as well as David III’s late wife, Beverly Poe McCain.

The McCain family has been connected with BSC since the 1930s. Sarah McCain Holt ’41 was the sister of David II. She was married to the late Walter A. Holt ’36, and their daughter, Nanaline Holt ’64, followed in their footsteps. Susan’s son, John McCain, is a 2007 alumnus, and David III’s daughter, Mary McCain, is a 2015 alumna.

“We wanted to introduce entrepreneurship to the group of students at BSC and give them an opportunity to learn and to employ entrepreneurship in their various careers and professions after graduation,” said David McCain III. “This is really what students needs to be part of, more than just reading it from a book. Michael is a great individual to carry this program forward.”

The expertise that Connolly brings to the classroom will allow BSC students to develop a better idea of what it takes to be successful in any entrepreneurial endeavor.

Connolly replaced Craig Parker in this role, who is now the Executive-in-Residence at Maynard Cooper Gale.