Kelly studied engineering at the University of Michigan and won a scholarship to pursue his MBA at Michigan State. He was admitted to the PhD Program but elected to pursue a career in industry. Career highlights included early use of time-sharing computers, travel to Europe and Japan, and an executive program at Harvard.
Upon retirement, he founded Howland Research in 1995. His work involving relational-graphic research tools produced four process patents for his corporate clients. His shift to academics has included development of research tools for study of the variant texts of Shakespeare and selected historical controversies.
Kelly’s research on the controversial 1603 text of Hamlet contributed to the resolution of a century-old dispute. The work was cited in the 2016 Arden edition of Hamlet, and his recent essays on the subject have appeared in scholarly journals. He is presently a Visiting Scholar at the University of Michigan.
As a book collector, he is a member of the Grolier Club of New York, and the Caxton Club of Chicago. He is a past President of the Prismatic Club of Detroit, the Detroit area’s literary club. Before moving to Ann Arbor and founding Howland Research he raced sailboats in the Etchells Class, a favorite of America’s Cup sailors.
Contact: ckelly@howlandresearch.com