Each Tuesday of the fall semester, we'll be bringing you feature stories on Slippery Rock athletics alumni that have gone on to interesting, unique or exceptional careers since departing The Rock. For our next feature, we check in with 1990 SRU alum Eric Conley, who is currently the president of Froedtert Hospital and executive vice president of Froedtert Health


Starting a new job is hard enough for anybody at any time. There’s always your standard nerves, stress, anxiety and exhaustion that comes with a new position, now try starting a new job in the healthcare field in the heart of a pandemic. That has been the reality for Eric Conley, a 1990 Slippery Rock graduate and four-year member of SRU’s baseball program, over the last few months. 

After being tabbed to replace the retiring Cathy Buck last September, Conley was officially appointed president of Froedtert Hospital and executive vice president of Froedtert Health on July 1, 2020. Located in Milwaukee, Froedtert Hospital is the academic medical center of the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin health network and is the largest hospital in Wisconsin.

In his new role, Conley is responsible for the overall functions of the hospital; leading the execution of performance with respect to strategic priorities and plans in the areas of service, quality, staff development, growth and finance, coordinating operational performance among system entities and oversight of ambulatory services in partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Conley joined the Froedtert Health organization in July of 2018 as senior vice president and chief operating officer for Froedtert Hospital. As has been the case for hospitals nationwide, Conley and the rest of the administration at Froedtert have worked tirelessly to navigate the pressures of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

“To operate in a constant crisis mode has been the largest challenge during the pandemic,” said Conley. “At the beginning of the pandemic we met for 100 days straight and had to face issues such as expanding our beds in house by 400 and ramping up a virtual platform in weeks that initially, we had scoped to implement over a longer time period. We’ve had to adapt our decision-making processes and protocols to meet the daily needs of the organization while maintaining our focus in advancing the health of the communities we serve through exceptional care.

“Now the goal is to carry the lessons learned from crisis mode into recovery mode and take the lessons we’ve learned to make ourselves better leaders and a better organization.”

Becoming president of Froedtert Hospital and executive vice president of Froedtert Health is an achievement of a life-long goal of Conley’s and just the latest step in what has been an impressive career progression for the former Rock infielder. 

“Not often in your career do you get to accomplish a lifetime goal,” said Conley. “Becoming the CEO/president of an academic medical center was a goal I set at the outset of my career and I accomplished that goal. It means the world to me and I could not have gotten here without a long list of peers and mentors, and of course, the foundation that came from Slippery Rock.”

Born in Pittsburgh, Conley’s family moved to Erie, Pennsylvania when he was a child where his father worked as a state trooper. He developed a love of all sports early in life including baseball, basketball and football. It was that love of baseball that led him to Slippery Rock.

“Coach (Messer) heard of me from a few pro scouts from the Pirates and Cardinals and fortunately made some time to come see me play during a summer league game,” said Conley. “Luckily, he liked what he saw! I had planned on attending the University of Pittsburgh with the hope of walking on the baseball team, however, after talking with coach and getting a feel for not only the sports atmosphere, but the focus on academics, Slippery Rock seemed like the right fit for me.”

While at SRU, Conley appeared in 133 games and made 79 starts. He ended his career as a life-time .288 hitter with 73 runs scored, 42 RBI and 25 stolen bases. He was named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division team in 1988 as a second baseman. 

“The intimate atmosphere on campus enabled me to make friends and allowed me to focus not only on athletics, but also focus on academics which provided me the foundation for where I am today,” said Conley. “In fact, a professor that I had at Slippery Rock and a teammate both encouraged me to go into hospital administration. 

“I remember fondly the college atmosphere at Slippery Rock and the feel of a real college town. While our team was having a lot of success, so were a lot of the other teams - so the all-around athletic atmosphere on campus was great.”

Described by head coach Jeff Messer as a great player and person, Conley was a key member of one of the best teams in Rock baseball history. In 1989, Slippery Rock won 42 games, concluded the year ranked 10th in the nation by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and finished third at the Division II World Series. A team captain, Conley started 49 games that season, scoring 36 runs with 23 RBI and stealing 12 bases.

“What I remember most is how well the team came together and gelled throughout the course of the year,” said Conley. “All the pieces fit, everybody had a role and most importantly we all got along off the field as well.

“The College World Series was in Montgomery, Alabama that year and one of my most vivid memories was attending the pre-tournament banquet and hearing a number of folks laugh at the name Slippery Rock and knowing that they were not taking us seriously. Shortly thereafter, we went out and beat the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the nation and I was fortunate enough to make the all-tournament team.”

Conley earned his bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock in hospital administration. He credits Wilfred Payne, the CEO/president at Primary Health Network, Inc., for sparking his interest in healthcare.

“In short, I was fortunate enough to get an internship at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Pittsburgh and was able to see how healthcare can impact communities and how these institutions can provide meaningful help to people within those communities,” Conley said. “In fact, my sociology professor was the individual who put me in contact with the FQHC and assisted me in securing the internship. 

“Additionally, one of the Allied Health professors stressed the need for more minorities in healthcare and thought I would do well as a professional in healthcare. After the internship was complete, the CEO of the FQHC helped shape my career as he was a key factor in my graduate school acceptance.”

Conley went on to earn his master’s degree in health and hospital administration from the Ohio State University. At OSU, Conley met another one of the key influences on his career in Reed Fraley, CEO of The Ohio State University Health System, who provided Conley graduate and professional jobs in healthcare.

Prior to joining Froedtert Health, Conley gained valuable experience throughout the country. He was the vice president of service lines and surgical services for KentuckyOne Health in Louisville, Kentucky in addition to holding positions at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Doctors Community Hospital in Maryland, Franklin Square Hospital Center in Maryland and Duke University’s Durham Regional Hospital in North Carolina.

Conley’s many achievements include being recognized as one of Chicago United’s 2011 Business Leaders of Color, being named to the Who’s Who in Black Chicago list in 2012 as well as receiving the Young Executive of the Year Award from the National Association of Health Services Executives in 1999.

While the challenges that he faces in his current role are numerous, the potential to truly make a difference outweigh any obstacles Conley said when asked what the most rewarding part of his profession was. 

“The impact that I personally, and our organization, can have to impact change in the communities we serve,” Conley said. “In addition, the ability to develop leaders that ultimately help impact change both locally, regionally and nationally. And of course, helping guide our amazing clinicians and assisting them in doing the work they do to advance academic medicine to save lives.”

Away from work, Conley and his wife, Janell, are the proud parents of three daughters – Cydney, Cori and Christen. All three daughters are accomplished collegiate field hockey athletes. Christen is a senior at Northwestern University, Cydney played at William Smith College (2013-16) while Cori played at Penn State University (2014-18) and is currently a member of the U.S. Women's National Development Team.

“There is no greater feeling in the world than seeing you children have success in life – both on and off the field,” said Conley. “Watching them succeed means more to me than any level of personal success I’ve had or will have.

“While all of the success they’ve had is a direct correlation to the hard work they’ve put in to their sport, I hope that my experience as an athlete at a high-level provided them some guidance as to how to manage all of the challenges that come with that success both on and off the field.”

Going from athlete to just a parent in the stands has admittedly been challenging at times for Conley, but he was quick to emphasize how much he’s enjoyed the experience and how happy he is that his children were able to gain the benefits of what being on a team provides. 

“Nerve racking, helpless and constantly on pins and needles!” said Conley. “With that being said, I couldn’t be happier that my daughters truly got to experience the value of sports and the life lessons it brings such as teamwork, collaboration, relationship development, winning and of course – losing.”

Conley had a few pieces of advice he would like to pass on to current Rock student-athletes.

“Enjoy the present with an eye to the future,” Conley said. “Be a good teammate, be present in the athletic moments and most importantly listen to coach! I will tell them what I have always told my girls, it is a privilege to be a collegiate student-athlete. Embrace it, enjoy the moment and recognize this is a special moment in your life and you only get four years of it.”


 

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