Beyond the Classroom: Dr. Grigg Glassades Glaciers
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Ice ax in hand and daughter at his side, Dr. Neil Grigg, professor of Civil Engineering, once glissaded the cirques of Rocky Mountain National Park annually with his family. Although no longer practicing this art of glacial body sledding, Dr. Grigg still stays active hiking, skiing and fishing on the Front Range. Though once an avid mountain climber, today, Dr. Grigg spends time hiking near Bear Lake, and summiting the occasional fourteener. Father of three and grandpa to eight, he remains constantly busy with his growing family, passing summers together in the mountains near Dillon, and fixing up his daughters' old houses. Although born and raised in Alabama, Dr. Grigg moved to Colorado in 1965, and has never left since; the mountains of Colorado seemed to have captured his spare time, as well as impeded his return to the south.
Despite his love of Colorado, Dr. Grigg has spent a considerable amount of time working and traveling internationally. His extensive international career began with the military, which stationed him in Germany for three years. Today, civil engineering has taken Dr. Grigg to every corner of the world, and though well traveled, he is especially fond of Latin America, particularly Brazil, and the Alpine Countries of Europe. Through his international work Dr. Grigg has been afforded the opportunity not only to work alongside many multilateral agencies, including NATO, UNESCO, the United Nations, and The World Bank, but also to develop a working capability in Spanish, Portuguese, German and even French. These skills came in handy last summer in Colombia, where he led a project on reforming their water law, almost completely conducted in Spanish.
In addition to work with many international organizations, Dr. Grigg has worked closely with our own government on a water resource project in Texas and New Mexico for the past 17 years. Approached by the Supreme Court to serve as River Master for the Pecos River, Dr. Grigg delegates water resources between the two states. As well, he is the authority, residing just below the Supreme Court, in all disputes between the states in regards to the river. As an expert in the west on water resource management, and a resident of neither Texas nor New Mexico, he was a perfect choice!
Though very active in the national and international community, Dr. Grigg has simultaneously been very involved here in Colorado. During his time with the CSU he has served as Director of the Office of International Education, Director of the Water Center, Department Head of Civil Engineering and is currently on the First Generation Committee, whose purpose it is to provide first generation college students with scholarship opportunities. As well, as a means to further educate himself, Dr. Grigg joined the Fort Collins Transportation Board, where today he deals with issues ranging from maintaining streets, to traffic congestion. From South Africa to Vietnam, Brazil to the United States, Dr. Grigg developed a dynamic livelihood, from continent to continent, while simultaneously maintaining a family and career back home in Colorado.