Grant Calder:
Blackburn Society Member Profile

Relationship to FCS:
Since 1993, Grant Calder has been the Director (or co-director) of College Counseling. He is a former chair of the history department and also teaches German. His children, Roxy and John, are members of the class of 2020. Grant has also been a loyal donor and a longtime member of the Blackburn Society. 

Quaker values absorbed:
“Simplicity. My years of working at Friends’ Central have strengthened my belief in simplicity.”

What makes a Friends’ Central education unique?
“Our students understand how a constructive discussion works. They are very good at talking about things thoughtfully. From early on at Friends’ Central, adults are asking students what they think about things and asking them to share and then to listen. It gets built in. And they are often surprised when they get to college at how much their professors rely on them to keep the verbal give and take going.”

Why do you give?
“I give because it’s such a pleasure to be able to work in a place like Friends’ Central, to spend every day in a community in the company of interesting colleagues and students. It’s as though I come to work in a village every day that’s constituted for this one shared purpose, our collective education. And since I’ve had kids, I’ve had even more reason to keep giving because my two very different kids had such good experiences at Friends’ Central.”

What would you say to encourage others to give?
“Friends’ Central is full of people who are trying to create experiences for the students that will stay with them for the rest of their lives and prepare them to be more engaged, more thoughtful, more participatory members of society. So you’re not just investing in Friends’ Central, you’re investing in people. To help produce more creative, reflective, engaged citizens and members of society is a wonderful way to give.”