Tom Anderson
Assistant Editor
Nov. 2 was an important day, but not just because it was Election Day; it was also the end of an era at the University of La Verne, as University Relations staffer Jean Grant bid her colleagues and coworkers farewell.
Grant, whose official title was senior director of major gifts, spent the last six and a half years overseeing the University’s major fundraising activities.
No sooner had she joined the ULV family on April 1, 1998, was she able to help build the annual Golf Tournament and President’s Dinner into the popular and prestigious events they are today.
The West Dining Room was filled with friends, family and well-wishers. However, out of all the afternoon’s guests, none seemed to be quite as popular as Grant’s 11-month-old son, Jackson.
Jackson spent much of the time in the arms of his father, Rupert, whom Jean met when she appointed him to serve on the golf tournament committee. Rupert and Jean soon fell in love and eventually married.
“I think she’s enjoyed being here, and that she’s grown personally and professionally,” Rupert said of his wife’s experience with the University.
Although the arrival of her first child was a life-changing occasion, Grant said Jackson was not the primary motivation for her to leave the University.
“I guess it was just time for a change,” she said of her decision. “I came and did everything I needed to do, and I wanted a new challenge.”
Grant says she hopes to find a local position in the educational field, even if it is not at the college level.
Either way, Grant said she would always treasure the time she spent at and the people she met at ULV.
“I made a lot of friends,” she said.
Many of those friends chipped in to get Grant a card; a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant, Cafe Allegro; a star-shaped metal keepsake and a custom-embroidered blanket to commemorate her all-too-brief career with the University.
Development Assistant Nicole Forrest, who has known Grant for three and a half years, both as a student and as a coworker, said she will miss Grant for a number of reasons.
“I’m going to miss the energy she brings to the office,” she said.
She also added that she will also miss having Grant’s experience and intelligence available at a moment’s notice.
University President Stephen Morgan also lamented Grant’s decision to move on, but was quick to point out that she leaves behind an important and far-reaching legacy.
“She has taken the President’s Dinner and the Golf Tournament to new levels,” he said.
Forrest joined Morgan and countless others in crediting Grant with raising the University’s status to another plateau, saying Grant’s efforts have given ULV a classier, more respectable reputation.
In fact, Grant considers the 2001 President’s Dinner to be her crowning achievement.
The event was highlighted by the presence of the Inland Valley Philharmonic Orchestra and its sweet serenading of the crowd during dinner.
Yet, even as she prepares to pursue new endeavors, Grant is filled with hope and optimism as the University Relations office enters the post-Jean Grant era.
“I hope the University continues towards excellence, and I believe it will,” she said.
Tom Anderson can be reached at tanderson1@ulv.edu.
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.