Unsure of his future, Dr. Thomas J. Grites ’66, M.S. ’67, spent the summer after his freshman year of college working as a brakeman on the railroad near his hometown of Danville. But when a boxcar full of soybeans was dumped across the tracks of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad during his watch, he felt his days on the rails might be numbered.
“That’s when I thought I better go back to college,” Grites said, laughing.
Appears InGrites transferred to Illinois State Normal University to study mathematics education and run track with plans to become a high school teacher and coach. But those plans changed through a series of opportunities that took him from Illinois State to Eastern Michigan University to the University of Maryland and, finally, to Stockton University.
He’s impacted thousands of students over 43 years in full-time roles at his final career stop at Stockton, located in Galloway Township, New Jersey. He retired as assistant provost in 2020, but he’s still serving students today as a part-time advisor and adjunct professor. He also continues to share his passion for student success by writing for professional publications, conducting conference presentations and webinars, and providing consultations.
Grites is the recipient of Illinois State’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award.
“I know I’ll have to give some sort of speech, and I guess I’ll have to focus on all the opportunities that I took advantage of,” Grites said. “Being a first-generation college student and not really knowing anything about higher ed, I just took the chances that came my way.
“I usually said ‘yes’ and just jumped into them.”
Those opportunities offered—and earned—along the way included scholarships, graduate and teaching assistantships, and job offers and promotions.
Grites has dedicated his career to helping students find those same things. He is especially passionate about transfer students, and he continues to teach a transfer student seminar at Stockton he designed and implemented 20 years ago. Serving an often-overlooked population of college students, Grites’ transfer seminar provides a transitional experience like the more common ones tailored for first-year students.
“Historically, transfer students have been neglected in higher education because they don’t count in retention and graduation rates,” he said. “So, this concept is one of the things I’m most proud of. I’ve said before that it’s the best thing I’ve done in my career.”
In addition to serving students, Grites has shared what he’s learned with colleagues and future generations of higher ed administrators through his association with the National Academic Advising Association: The Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA). One of the organization’s founding members, Grites has served as its president and is the only person to attend every NACADA national conference since the first one in 1977.
“Being a first-generation college student and not really knowing anything about higher ed, I just took the chances that came my way.”
—Dr. Thomas J. Grites ’66, M.S. ’67
Grites’ work has been recognized with awards from NACADA and other professional organizations like the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students and the American College Personnel Association. He’s previously won alumni awards from both Illinois State’s College of Education, which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2007, and the University of Maryland, where he earned his doctorate.
Illinois State’s Distinguished Alumni Award is the latest achievement in a career full of them for an alum who used his own higher ed experience to help students navigate theirs.
“I’m very proud of the career I’ve had,” Grites said. “I’m humble and don’t like to toot my own horn, so this is very rewarding.”
Other alumni award winners included:
Alumni Achievement Award
Dr. Sally E. Arnett ’97
Professor and program coordinator, Illinois State University
Dave Breen ’88
Retired President and CEO, Special Olympics Illinois
John W. Maitland Jr. Commitment to Education Award
Rhona Israel ’83
Retired assistant superintendent, District 206
E. Burton Mercier Alumni Service Award
Ron Whitton Jr. ’80
Owner, Butch’s Pizza
Andrew Purnell Jr. Trailblazer Award
Simón Rodriguez Jr. ’13
Youth services director, City of Aurora
Reginald “Reggie” Summerrise ’86
President and CEO, Le Penseur Youth & Family Services
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Dr. Kristen M. Pesavento ’05
Assistant professor and graduate program director, Loyola University Chicago
Nominations are also being sought for the 2025 Alumni Awards. Deadline to submit is July 31, 2024.
