In 1929, when Colorado Mesa University was still Grand Junction Junior College, James Groves was among the college’s earliest graduates. Raised on a peach farm near Grand Junction, Colorado, James continued his education by pursuing a law degree before returning home to establish his practice. He spent much of his career serving the local community before eventually joining the Colorado Supreme Court, where he served as a justice for 12 years. In 1969, CMU recognized Groves as a distinguished alumnus.
His connection to the college would become part of a family story that still continues nearly a century later.
“If you are looking for proof of what can start at [Colorado Mesa University], you could not invent a better example,” says Erik Groves, ’05, James’ grandson. “His life is the argument for CMU. He grew up on a peach farm a few miles from campus, graduated in the school’s very first years and ended his career in the highest court in Colorado.”
The connection continued with Erik. While attending CMU, he participated in Associated Student Government (ASG) and partnered with then- ASG President Jared Wright to establish the Justice James K. Groves Scholarship in honor of his grandfather. The scholarship gave Erik a way to honor his family’s history with CMU while helping create opportunities for future students. From the beginning, there was hope the family could one day provide additional support for the fund.
More than 20 years later, that hope became a reality through a contribution from John Groves, Erik’s uncle and James’ son. Although John did not attend CMU, his family’s longstanding relationship with the university helped inspire his decision to give.
“We are a family of immigrants to the Grand Valley. My grandmother [came] here in a covered wagon in the latter part of the 19th century. Dad was a graduate of the college, and since a scholarship had already been established in his name, we thought it only appropriate to honor his memory by making an additional contribution,” said John.
Like James, both John and Erik pursued careers in law. For Erik, the scholarship connects that shared family history with students who are beginning to build their own futures at CMU.
“Someone sat where you are sitting [and] went on to shape the law of this state,” said Erik. “[My grandfather] was a local kid who went to the local college and carried it as far as it could take him.”
Although CMU evolved significantly between his grandfather’s junior college days and his time as a student, the school provided opportunities that helped shape both of their futures. For James, the foundation he built at Grand Junction Junior College helped launch a career that eventually led to the Colorado Supreme Court. For Erik, CMU prepared him for law school with an education he felt was comparable to that of classmates from some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions.
“Not once did I feel deprived or limited by my education because I had gone to a smaller school in Grand Junction,” recalled Erik. “What CMU added that those [larger] schools often cannot was the chance to actually lead as an undergraduate.”
For Erik, one of those opportunities to lead became an opportunity to give back. By helping establish the scholarship while he was still a student, he honored the education and example that came before him while creating support for the students who would come next. John’s contribution more than two decades later continues that tradition, extending the Groves family’s connection to CMU.
Creating the scholarship remains one of the decisions Erik is most proud of.
“The quiet magic of an endowment [is that] it keeps compounding long after the people who started it are gone. My grandfather graduated nearly a century ago, and if this fund does its job, students will still be benefiting from his name a century from now”, said Erik.