Mary Ann Connell is a former Clarksdale wife and homemaker that became an attorney. She attended Harvard Law School (with classmate Barack Obama) to become one of the first women to practice law in Clarkdale and later Oxford, Mississippi. An author as well, her book An Unexpected Life, Ms. Connell has made significant contributions to the legal profession, education, and in civil rights.
Mary Ann Connell currently practices law in Oxford. She served as university attorney for the University of Mississippi from 1982 to 2003. A career educator, she has taught courses in higher education law, school law, legal research and writing, business law, and employment law.
Among her many professional accomplishments, Ms. Connell is a past president of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, past president of the Mississippi Council of School Board Attorneys, and a fellow of The Mississippi Bar Foundation. She is a recipient of the NAACP Freedom Award for lifelong service in the area of education and civil rights and the University of Mississippi Chancellor’s Award for outstanding contributions toward increasing diversity. Connell received her LLM from Harvard Law School. She has four daughters and four grandchildren.
Sign location: 100 block of Delta Ave. (in front of first law firm where McConnell worked)
Sign Production: digital art by Richard Bolen
Source image: photograph from mayomallette Law Firm, Oxford, MS