Dr. Charles Grant stands in front of the fine arts center on the North campus, a building that will be renamed in his honor.

Grant and Blue both announced earlier this year that they would take advantage of the early exit program offered by the College. However, both plan to remain active in the community and within the College District.

“Both Charles and Monte have a long history of dedicated service to the College and their respective communities,” said Marie Flickinger, Chair, San Jacinto College Board of Trustees. “They have affected the lives of many students over the years. The Board is proud to recognize both these men by naming a building on their campus for them.”

Grant has served San Jacinto College North for 25 years in several positions, first as an instructor. He was then named the Director of Continuing Education, and moved up the ranks to Dean of Continuing Education, Vice President of Instruction, and finally President. The fine arts building on the North campus will now be named the Charles W. Grant Fine Arts Center.

“It’s a great honor to have the North campus Fine Arts Center named after me,” said Grant. “I want to thank the San Jacinto College District Board of Trustees for doing this. Additionally, I want to thank all the excellent administrators, faculty and staff on the North campus who have helped make San Jacinto College North the ‘hub’ of the North Channel Area.”

The outgoing and friendly campus president is well known and esteemed in the North Channel area, particularly because of his volunteer community service involvement through the North Shore Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, the Wendel Ley YMCA and the North Channel Chamber of Commerce. He is also actively involved with Rotaract, a group of young professionals of Rotary between the ages of 18 and 30. He has served as Chairman of the Worldwide Rotaract Committee, and with only six Rotarians in the world on the committee, he was the only member from the United States. He has served as the Charter Sponsor of the San Jacinto College North Rotaract Club each of his 25 years with the College.

Dan Mims, a member of the Board of Trustees who is also from the North Channel area, said, “Charles Grant has served San Jacinto College and the North Channel community with dignity, humility, foresight, distinction, and other qualities too many to list. It was a personal privilege to make the motion to name the Charles W. Grant Fine Arts Center after a man for whom I have much admiration. One certainty is that Charles Grant will succeed in whatever future endeavor he chooses.”

“Dr. Grant has done an outstanding job for San Jacinto College North,” said Dr. Gerald Cobb, current Chairman of Woodforest National Bank and past Chairman of the San Jacinto College Foundation Board. “Much progress in growth and the quality of service in the community is due to Dr. Grant. He has done an equally outstanding job serving on various committees and boards. We hate to lose him as president, but we wish him success and thank him for his service.”

The music building on the Central campus will be renamed after Dr. Monte Blue.

Dr. Blue has been with the College for 37 years, 25 of those as President of the Central campus. He arrived at the College in 1971 as a faculty member in the art department. He was also the director of instructional media, a position he held for four years. In 1979, after receiving his doctorate degree, he moved into the position of Dean of Student Services at the South campus before taking a similar role at the Central location in 1981. Two years later he was named president of the Central campus. The music building on the Central campus will now be called the Monte Blue Music Building.

“I want to thank Dr. Lindemann and the members of the Board for this recognition,” said Blue. “What makes this so special is the fact that the Central campus has perhaps the largest, and certainly the best, music program of any community college in the state. I am very proud to have my name associated with our music department.”

Blue has been an active member in the community as well, serving as past president of the LaPorte-Bayshore Chamber of Commerce, the Southmore Medical Center, and the LaPorte Rotary. He has also served on the boards of the San Jacinto YMCA and Economic Alliance Houston Port Region.

“I have appreciated working with Dr. Blue for the 30 plus years I have been on the Board of Trustees,” said current Board member Wayne Slovacek. “Dr. Blue and his wife Sheryl have always worked hard to see that students who come to the Central campus to improve their education have available to them the best that is offered by San Jacinto College. Dr. Blue has, with his staff, been able to produce a finished product that the college, their families, friends and others can be proud of.”

Both Grant and Blue are considering teaching at the college level after they leave San Jacinto College.