Sybil Connolly Scholarship in Design

Scholarship Information

Dr. Johann Norstedt, retired Virginia Tech professor and Radford University investor created this endowment in memory of Sybil Connelly 1921-1998. Ms. Connolly was a Dublin based fashion designer who was known for creating fashions from Irish textiles, including finely pleated linen, Donegal tweed, and Irish lace. She is credited with having put Irish fashions on the map, and she was described by former Irish Prime Minister, Jack Lynch, as: “a national treasure.” Her fashions were covered by the international fashion press such as the Hollywood Reporter and Harpers Bazaar. In her early career, at seventeen, she was apprenticed to a London dressmaking company, Bradley & Co. Connolly would attend Buckingham Palace fittings, where she was allowed to hold pins!
She worked with brands such as Tiffany & Co. In her later career Connolly began designing interior fabrics and wallpapers. In 2012, her work attracted renewed interest when actor Gillian Anderson wore a vintage dress by the designer for the BAFTAs. Her design genius is forever celebrated at the White House where First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy wears a Sybil Connolly creation for her official portrait.

Scholarship Criteria

• Must be in good academic standing.