It can be said that the only guarantee in life is change – and Dr. Ann Grant has seen plenty during the years at Cuesta College as an administrator, division chair, instructor and student. Grant is currently the Dean of Instruction, Sciences, Mathematics and Nursing and will officially retire from her position at the end of December.

Grant has served as dean for more than 12 years, after she was Director and Division Chair of Nursing and Allied Health between 1986 and 1991. This followed her service as the Regional Director of the Statewide Baccalaureate Nursing Program and as a staff nurse at French Hospital in San Luis Obispo and at a U.S. Hospital in Heidelberg, West Germany. Grant earned her A.S. degree in nursing from Cuesta College in 1975.

Grant’s departure is going to leave a tremendous void according to Superintendent/ President Marie E. Rosenwasser. "Ann will be missed by Cuesta staff and students," she said. "Her leadership and efforts have been a primary factor in growing and maintaining our first-rate nursing program, a strong science and math curriculum and a strong P.E. and health education program at Cuesta. We wish her the best."

In addition to her service at Cuesta, Grant helped establish the Licensed Vocational Nursing – Registered Nurse (LVN-RN) program at Hancock College in the late 1980s, serving as the first director of that program. She published a textbook for RN students going on to complete their baccalaureate degrees. Grant served as the first regional director for the CSU statewide nursing program in 1982, which brought onsite baccalaureate courses in nursing to San Luis Obispo and Northern Santa Barbara Counties. The program has since moved to CSU Dominguez Hills.

Grant recalls many good memories about her time at Cuesta. At the top of her list are memories of working with "skilled, dedicated and caring professionals." Other fond memories include "seeing dozens of new faculty begin their careers, visiting them in their classrooms and observing the next generation of excellent Cuesta instructors at work;" "supporting math faculty to establish the annual ‘Expanding Your Horizons’ conference for middle-school girls;" "Planning for new buildings – particularly the new Allied Health, Math and Science complex at the North County Campus;" and "playing practical jokes on colleagues – and having them return the favor."

Grant has many plans after retiring, including singing again with the Cuesta Master Chorale, taking art classes, revisiting Nepal and visiting Africa, teaching nursing online, volunteering in the community and at Cuesta, and spending more time with family, including her one-and-a-half year old granddaughter, Rowena.

The San Luis Obispo resident earned her Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin, her master’s of science in nursing from CSU Fresno, her bachelor’s of science in nursing from the University of the State of New York, a master’s degree in education/counseling from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Utah.