Gary Gresholdt was an NIU administrator who spent his days making sure students’ issues were always well taken care of.

That is the way Michelle Emmett, associate vice provost for Student Affairs, described Gresholdt, who has retired after spending 35 years at NIU.

“His number one goal was to serve the students and staff of NIU, especially those staff members in Student Affairs. He did that with extraordinary dignity and grace. Gary was a humble man, a treasured colleague and a dear friend,” Emmett said.

NIU will honor Gresholdt, former vice provost for Student Affairs, with a reception from 3 to 4:30 p.m. today in Neptune Central.

Gresholdt said he enjoyed his days working in Student Affairs because of the students and the fact that every day was always unique. The people aspect is what he’ll miss most about working at NIU – the students, faculty and staff, he said.

Gresholdt’s work in student affairs included a combination of different agendas, meetings, programs and student issues.

Emmett said Gresholdt led the area to new heights in several collaborations with academic departments.

For example, he worked as co-chair of the Asian American Task Force and worked to establish Asian American Resources at NIU and a certification program in Asian American Studies. These were just two of the many activities he took part in while at NIU, Emmett said.

“Much of what he accomplished was often done under radar,” she said. “Since Gary is a very unassuming man, he never sought glory for himself.”

Probably one of the hardest things Gresholdt had to deal with was the negative effect the budget had on Student Affairs, but he made sure the students were well taken care of, Emmett said.

Gresholdt said he decided to retire because he reached a point where retirement made sense to him.

However, just because Gresholdt has retired doesn’t mean he’s still not a busy man.

Instead of working with the students at NIU, Gresholdt is now working on helping his own children with their new life changes. His daughter is starting her freshman year at Augustine College and his son, an NIU alumnus, has just landed his first job in Springfield, he said.

“I’m just excited to be a part of Northern for 35 years and I plan to remain in the community,” Gresholdt said. “I look forward to seeing the exciting things that will happen at Northern.”

Gresholdt said he is sure Brian Hemphill, who succeeds him as vice provost, will do just fine.