Skip To Content
Alumni Sign In

Dennis Scannell

Class of 1983-1984

About Dennis

Dennis Scannell is the lead partner and Chief Operating Officer of Boston-based Rutabaga Capital Management, an institutional investment management firm focused on micro cap and small cap U.S. equity markets. Dennis is a member of the portfolio management team, which makes all investment decisions for client portfolios, as well as having responsibility for client engagement, new business development, and firm management. Prior to joining Rutabaga Capital in 2000, Dennis was a senior vice president, analyst, and portfolio manager at David L. Babson & Company. He has also worked at Greenwich Associates, as a senior consultant, and at the First Boston Corporation, as a mergers and acquisitions analyst.   Dennis received his A.B., cum laude, in political science in 1982 from the University of Southern California, and earned his MBA from the Yale School of Management in 1989. A high school All American swimmer, he attended college on an athletic scholarship, made all-conference all four years, and was elected co-captain of the swim team in his senior year. Upon graduation, he was named scholar-athlete of the year by the University Committee on Athletics, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.   After graduating from USC, Dennis was named a Henry Luce Scholar in Asia in 1983-84, where he worked for the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee, which was preparing for the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympic Games.  
An active volunteer in the community, Dennis serves as treasurer and investment committee chair of the board of Cambridge Family & Children Services, a hundred-and-fifty-year-old private social services agency that focuses on at-risk families and youth. He is also a member of the Advisory Board to the City Manager of Cambridge, advising the city manager on topics ranging from zoning to traffic management to policies affecting policing.   Dennis lives in Cambridge Massachusetts with his wife of thirty-five years, Jane Kamensky, a professor of American History at Harvard University, and spends all the time he can with their two grown sons and two goldendoodles.

Join the Luce Scholars Community!

Apply Now

Get InvolvedBecome a Luce Scholar Mentor

Interested in giving back to the Luce community? Sign up to become a mentor. We’ll pair you with a current Scholar or a recent alumnus of the program.

Get in Touch

Are you a Luce Alumnus?Share Your Story

Every month we spotlight Luce alumni who share memories from their Luce Year and tell us about their professional journeys. If you’d like us to share your story, please get in touch!

Share Your Story