Posted September 15, 2000

IOWA CITY -- The Christine H. B. Grant Scholarship Fund has been created through the University of Iowa Foundation to honor the UI's longtime director of women's intercollegiate athletics, who announced her retirement last June.

A generous lead gift from Dr. Sue Beckwith of Des Moines started the scholarship fund to pay tribute to Grant's successful career. Beckwith earned a B.S. degree in 1980 and an M.D. degree in 1984 from the UI and was a UI basketball letter winner from 1976 to 1980. Through gifts from other alumni and friends of the University, the Foundation plans to raise at least $250,000 to provide perpetual funding for an endowed scholarship-fully covering tuition, room and board, and student fees for a female student-athlete at the UI each year.

"Christine Grant has devoted her career to achieving equality and excellence in women's athletics," Beckwith said. "This scholarship is a fitting tribute to a woman who has worked tirelessly both at the University of Iowa and on a national level to promote women in sports."

University of Iowa President Mary Sue Coleman said the scholarship "will acknowledge and permanently recognize Christine Grant's outstanding accomplishments as UI director of women's athletics. Hawkeye fans can help ensure that Christine Grant will have an enduring impact on future generations of UI student-athletes by contributing to the scholarship fund created in her honor."

Grant, a pioneer in women's athletics, came to the UI in 1973. During her 37-year tenure, she enhanced the women's program to include 12 NCAA-level sports that won or shared 27 Big Ten Conference titles. She is a founding member and former president of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), an expert consultant for the Civil Rights Title IX Task Force, and current chair of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) Gender Equity Committee.

To contribute to the Christine H. B. Grant Scholarship Fund, contact the I-Club Office at the UI Foundation at P. O. Box 4550, Iowa City, Iowa 52244-4550; or call (319) 335-3305 or (800) 648-6973.

The UI Foundation is the preferred channel for private contributions to all areas of the university. Foundation staff work with alumni and friends to generate funds for scholarships, professorships, facilities improvements, equipment purchases, research and other UI initiatives.

Contact Information

Andy Piro
Director of Development, Intercollegiate Athletics-Endowment
(319) 335-3305 or (800) 648-6973

Additional information about supporting Hawkeye intercollegiate athletics also is available on this site.