O n March 26, former Monmouth President, Grey J. Dimenna passed away in a motorcycle accident at the age of 72.
Dimenna began his Monmouth career on Feb. 20, 1995, serving as Vice President and General Counsel. After nearly two decades, he retired on July 31, 2013. Amid presidential transition for the university, Dimenna came out of retirement and served as the ninth president from Feb. 28, 2017, until his second retirement on July 31, 2019. After retiring for the second time, he was still involved in the life of the university and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music.
During his tenure as president, Dimenna saw to completion the 4,200-seat Henni Kantor Kessler & John H. Kessler Stadium in 2017, the Edison Science Hall renovation and expansion in 2018, and launched the “Together We Can: The Campaign for Scholarship” raising over $19 million (exceeding their $15 million goal) for student scholarships just a month before his presidential term ended. His deep care in decades of service has left a legacy that will shape many generations.
In an Outlook article published on April 5, 2017, titled, “A Sit Down with President Grey Dimenna” Dimenna was asked “What do you plan on your relationship with students being like during your time here?” He answered, “I want to be as visible as possible, particularly with students. I was told earlier that I was in the Rebecca Stafford Student Center more than a lot of presidents have been in the past year or two. I have been going up to students and introducing myself.”
Dr. James Pillar, Vice President for Student Life, knew Dimenna not just as a colleague but a close friend. “Grey was part of many pivotal moments in my life. He carried unconditional compassion and made our lives better, students included,” he said. “He had an admiration for the students. He would eat in the dining hall, join for midnight breakfast; he was present in our students’ lives. We grieve the loss of Grey but are grateful and celebrate the years we had with him.”
According to his obituary, Dimenna loved cycling, riding his motorcycle, hiking, playing guitar and listening to live blues music. Even after his retirement, he never turned down an adventure. His witty humor was what he was known for, leaving every person he connected to feeling seen and filled with joy.
Continuing his answer, Dimenna shared the impact he had on a student during his tenure as president. “Recently, I ran into a prospective student who was here visiting on her own for the second time and her mother was about to take her picture and I got in on the picture. We started talking and I told her why she should come here. I later ran into them again and we started talking. I asked them if they had ever seen my office and they said they had peaked in the door,” he said. “I told them to come up and I showed them the office and showed them the conference room. I found out she was interested in biology so I walked her down the hall and had her speak to Michael Palladino, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Former Dean of the School of Science, and she took her on a tour of the new science building and it turns out that she is coming to Monmouth; I found out from admissions last week,” he continued.
Current Vice President and General Counsel, Charlene Diana, was hired by Dimenna as a part-time staff attorney and worked under his leadership for nearly two decades. “Grey led with empathy and compassion. He was a supervisor who was truly part of the team and rolled his sleeves up to work alongside his colleagues. Grey developed strong relationships with colleagues and constituents through integrity and trust, built over time,” she said. “Through his vision, we provided opportunities for many of our students and alumni who went on to become very successful attorneys. He was adamant that interns did not do busy work – rather, they were involved in our office’s day-to-day matters, compliant with confidentiality requirements. For Grey, students were the heart of the matter at Monmouth, and he loved and prioritized supporting and spending time with students. When Grey later became president, he was always seen with our students and participating in student events.”
When asked “what is one thing you would like to tell the campus community that they may not already know about you?” in the 2017 Outlook article Dimenna answered, “Besides being the funniest man on campus…we had a legal intern program in our office where students who were interested in becoming lawyers could intern and that was probably the way I got the most contact with students.” He continued, “The program was very educational. I made sure the interns were not allowed to do any kind of office work. Instead, they were drafting politics, participating in meetings, drafting correspondents; they were doing the kinds of things that lawyers would be doing. The feedback that we got from doing that program was overwhelmingly positive. I keep in contact with some of those former students to this day. Two of them, my wife and I jokingly refer to as our adopted daughters, and we travel with them and celebrate birthdays with them. So that is one thing that students don’t know about me, that my core belief system is that students come first.”
Working closely under Dimenna, Diana expressed how grateful and blessed she was to have him, not only as a boss but also as a friend and mentor. He taught her the importance of being an empathetic colleague, building relationships with the entire campus community through integrity, and that it was acceptable to have a sense of humor as an attorney, since he was the “funniest man on campus.” She added, “He will be truly missed.”
Henry Mercer, Trustee Emeritus of Monmouth University, commented on the impact of Dimenna’s character to the campus. “I met Grey 16 years ago. The very first thing he said to me was, ‘I’m Grey, the funniest man on campus.’ He was also the coolest guy on campus and the most humble,” he said. “The crowning achievement of his presidency was a campaign to raise funds for endowed scholarships which will benefit future generations of Monmouth students. A true original to the end. His legacy is a life well led, never compromising his unique character. Lastly, when Grey retired, he was the most beloved man on campus.”
During his presidency, he established the Grey J. Dimenna and Nancy Kaplen Distinguished Endowed Scholarship in 2018. A permanently funded financial aid resource to support student needs with a pledge of $75,000. The scholarship, named after him and his wife, now serves as a memorial fund in honor of his dedication to students.
Apart from scholarships, many of Dimenna’s contributions to the university have come to fruition on Monmouth’s campus. “During his tenure, he was instrumental in making the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music a reality here on campus,” commented President Patrick F. Leahy. “He will be sorely missed by all of us in the greater Monmouth University community. We stand with Nancy and his family members during this difficult time.”
Dimenna is survived by his wife, Nancy Kaplen; his daughter and son-in-law, Denison Ryan and Paul Luke; his step-daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Jeff King; his grandson, Ethan King; his granddaughter, Madeline King; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Richard and Sharon Dimenna, Michael and Darlene Dimenna; his sister, Cathy Way; his “adopted daughters,” Ali and Kim; and his “adopted brother,” Robert.
In the final question of the 2017 Outlook article sit down, Dimenna left students with encouragement on navigating their college life. “My advice would be to take courses that strengthen your communication skills, both oral and written. With any job you get, the ability to speak coherently and to persuade people of a position as well as the ability to write persuasively is key. People that can do that have a real leg up in whatever profession they go into and I did not do that as much as I should have when I was in college. Another piece of advice is to get involved on campus. That is another thing that I didn’t do as much as I should have. It is great for building your resume, but also helps you develop as a person.”
