Couple Underwrites Identity Project

Grinnell College Trustee Steve Holtze ’68 and his wife, Elizabeth Alexander Holtze ’68, have made a generous commitment that will help the College communicate the many ways Grinnell is distinctive and special.

After discussion with the College, the Holtzes, who live in Denver, wanted their $300,000 pledge to help Grinnell with initiatives separate from their support of academic programming. They concluded that a gift to underwrite the institutional identity project would bolster Grinnell’s worldwide reputation for excellence. The Holtzes are passionate about Grinnell’s programs, including classics and literature, science, and athletics. Their support helps equip the College to improve its financial position through increased net student revenues and alumni giving.

“As proud Grinnellians, we see this commitment as a way to help attract outstanding students by clarifying and communicating the special, distinct, and valuable elements of a Grinnell education,” the Holtzes said in a statement.

Grinnell has contracted with Crane MetaMarketing to help articulate Grinnell’s distinctive character in ways that will be meaningful and attractive to qualified applicants, while also remaining authentic to the College as it is known and loved by students, faculty, staff, and alumni around the world.

Steve Holtze was elected to Grinnell’s Board of Trustees in 2002. He is chairman and majority owner of Magnolia Hotel Corp., a hotel development and management company with properties in historic buildings in downtown Denver, Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, and Omaha. He earned his B.A. in physics at Grinnell, where he also swam for legendary swimming and diving coach Ray Obermiller. After Grinnell, Steve earned both B.S. and M.S degrees in civil engineering from Columbia University.

Elizabeth Alexander Holtze is professor emerita of English at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Elizabeth’s life-long interest in language and literature, evident throughout her academic career, are rooted in her B.A. in classics from Grinnell, followed by an M.A. in Latin from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in medieval English literature from the University of Nebraska.

Through their philanthropic support for Grinnell, the Holtzes are helping to nurture the College’s outstanding reputation and worldwide impact.