TEXTILES.ORG
The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) announced that the newly refurbished Colorlab has been dedicated to Roland L. Connelly Sr., who passed away July 4, 2024. The dedication ceremony took place at the AATCC Technical Center May 15, and his memory was honored by the presence of close friends and family. In attendance were his wife, Lynn Connelly, son Lee Connelly, his brother Wes Connelly, and his sister-in-law Pat Connelly.
Connelly founded RoLyn Group, a consulting service specializing in color and lighting. He served as director of global digital supply chain for X-Rite Inc. from 2005–2012. Before that, he was the director of enterprise color management at GretagMacbeth, which merged with X-Rite in 2005.
Earlier in his career, Connelly was the president and co-owner of SheLyn Inc. from 1987–2003. Before founding SheLyn, he managed the Color Laboratory at Burlington Industries Corp. R&D for 18 years. With more than 40 years of experience, he was an expert in all aspects of color management and control.
Connelly held several leadership roles, including president of AATCC, chair of the RA36 Color Measurement Committee and member of the AATCC Board of Directors. He received the AATCC Chapin Service Award and served as president of the Inter Society Color Council, among other duties. He was active in ASTM Committee E12 on Color and Appearance and the International Commission on Illumination. He also represented the U.S in ISO TC38 for textiles.
Roland earned his Bachelor of Science in textile science and Master of Science in color science from Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. Roland was involved in the AATCC Foundation and has a fellowship named after him to aid graduate students studying at Clemson University.
Connelly was born Nov. 30, 1945, and passed July 4, 2024.