DURHAM, N.C. — August 8, 2025 — On May 15, 2025, AATCC dedicated the newly refurbished ColorLab in honor of Roland L. Connelly Sr. The dedication ceremony took place at the AATCC Technical Center, 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.
Roland 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, Roland was the President and co-owner of SheLyn Inc. from 1987 to 2003. Prior to founding SheLyn, he managed the Color Laboratory at Burlington Industries Corp. R&D for 18 years. With more than 40 years of experience, Roland was an expert in all aspects of color management and control.
He frequently lectured and authored numerous papers on topics such as lighting, colorant formulation, quality control, supply chain management, and instrumental UV calibration. Roland held several leadership roles, including President of AATCC, Chair of 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 (ISCC), among other duties. He was active in ASTM Committee E12 on Color and Appearance and the CIE (International Commission on Illumination). He also represented the US in ISO TC38 for Textiles.
Roland, along with a few others, was instrumental in developing and conducting AATCC’s first Color Management workshop in 1977. He served as course instructor for many years until his retirement. Under his guidance, RA36 draft and maintained several AATCC standards. Roland played a key role in establishing the Textile Ultraviolet Control Standard (TUVCS) program, which helps labs improve the repeatability, reproducibility, and quality of their electronic color management and communication for white and light-colored textile materials.
Roland earned his Bachelor of Science in Textile Science and Mater of Science in Color Science from Clemson University. Roland was involved in the AATCC Foundation, and has a fellowship named after him to aid graduate students studying at Clemson University. He was a dedicated friend and advocate of AATCC. In honor of his contributions, AATCC gratefully accepted the donation of Roland’s personal spectrophotometer, thanks to the generosity of his beloved spouse, Lynn Connelly.
Posted: August 8, 2025
Source: The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC)
