Dave Grant, Millennium Hall of Fame

Officially, Dave Grant is retired. But follow his busy schedule

these days and you’ll soon realize there is no such word in his

vocabulary.

From serving as pro bono director of the Newport Harbor Nautical

Museum to working the lecture circuit, from hosting dinner parties to

surfing Newport Beach’s best waves, the former Orange Coast College

president and veteran crew coach is a nonstop bundle of spirit and

passion. “Coaching has been a lot of fun, and it continues to be,

because there’s always something fresh,” said Grant, who returned to the

OCC boathouse this year when head coach Jim Jorgensen, a longtime friend

and colleague, asked him to coach the freshmen.

“It’s fun teaching beginners,” added Grant, always the epitome of a

positive outlook.

“I don’t remember the years we won championships, I couldn’t tell you.

I think they’re written down in a press book, but I don’t really care. We

coach men and women in the sport of rowing, and really all I’m concerned

about is their success as student/athletes. You’re not going to make a

living in rowing, but you can use it as a vehicle for a wonderful youth

and be very competitive, a scenario I think is very rewarding.”

One of the most respected sporting types in the Newport-Mesa community

with over 40 years of experience in aquatics, Grant took over a

struggling crew program at Orange Coast in 1962, when then-OCC President

Basil Peterson added the assignment to Grant’s initial list of duties

after being hired for one year as a history teacher.

Grant told Peterson at the time he didn’t know much about rowing. “I’m

sure you’ll figure something out,” Peterson said to Grant, who also

coached the OCC sailing team for several years.

Grant turned OCC into a national rowing power, defeating the country’s

top four-year colleges on a regular basis. Today, OCC is still the only

community college in the nation with a crew program.

Among other regattas, OCC has competed in the century-old Dublin

Regatta and the Henley Royal Regatta in Great Britain, the world’s

premier rowing event.

In the summer of 1986, the OCC crew was invited by the People’s

Republic of China to be the first American crew to visit China and

compete.

“Let’s face it, Orange Coast is unique,” said Grant, who taught

history and political science at OCC, before joining the school’s

administrative team.

Grant, who grew up in Newport Beach and graduated from Newport Harbor

High in 1956, attended OCC and UCLA, earning his degree in political

science and masters in history.

Grant, a former Newport Harbor swimmer under Coach Al Irwin, was a

prep All-American backstroker and Eagle Scout. He completed course

studies at American University in Washington, D.C., and did postgraduate

work in international relations at the University of Stockholm and

University of Oslo.

Following a successful run as a professor, Grant became associate dean

of students at OCC, then was dean of students for 10 years, along with

director of the college’s marine programs, facilities and services.

He took over as the college’s fifth president on July 1, 1990, after a one-year stint as interim president, when district chancellor Al

Fernandez and the board of directors asked him to come back and serve.

For three years prior to his appointment as president, Grant stepped

away from the Orange Coast administrative scene, largely because of

disagreements with OCC’s former president, Donald Bronsard.

Grant served as OCC president through January 1996, then retired. “You

don’t really retire,” Grant said. “You get reassigned.”

In the early stages of Grant’s coaching career, he sought the advice

of Harvard Coach Harry Parker, who had operated a highly successful Ivy

League crew. Grant wrote him a letter, asking a few questions, then

Parker responded by inviting him out for a week. “That began a 37-year

friendship with Harry and his wife (Kathy),” Grant said.

These days, when OCC travels to the East Coast, Parker gives the

Pirates the best boat available, and when Harvard comes here, Grant

always takes care of the Crimson crew.

Grant, who learned to row at OCC in the 1950s and helped coach the

1984 U.S. Olympic rowing team, is one of the primary individuals

responsible for the development of the Newport Aquatic Center, considered

a hub for Olympic rowers and paddlers, as well as junior and adult

recreational and competitive rowers. Grant served as NAC president for

about 12 years and continues to promote rowing as a sport for a lifetime.

“People can do it all their lives,” he said. “When I was at the Head

of Charles three years ago in Boston, I counted 11 people over the age of

80, and they’re racing three miles. The (American Medical Association)

Journal did a study 10 years ago to determine age factors and athletics,

and people who participated in athletics as a whole do not live longer

than other people -- with the exception of college oarsmen.

“To be an oarsman is one extremely tight regiment. It’s not just being

fit, but it’s strength and endurance. I’ve never seen a fat oarsman.

“Also, rowing is a sport which draws -- dare I say it -- a kind of

elite crowd. Rowers are typically well-fed, well-clothed and well-cared

for in the first place.”

Grant, who lives in Newport Beach and said he’ll forever be grateful

to the chancellor and board for giving him the opportunity to serve as

OCC president, is the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of

Fame, celebrating the millennium.