An employee at UVM, passed away Jan. 10 after a battle with cancer, according to a University Communications release.

Jackie Gribbons served as a faculty member and in several administrative roles from 1966 to 2006, the release said.

Gribbons was one of the original founders of UVM’s nationally ranked Higher Education and Student Affairs program and implemented the Title IX standards, the release said.

“Jackie was pioneering in so many ways at the university and nationally (…) She recognized early on that our program is professional education and that you can’t just read about it in a book,” Kathy Manning, a professor in the HESA program, said in the release.

According to the release, Manning met Gribbons during her job interview in 1989 and worked with her until Gribbons’ retirement.

Gribbons’ legacy is introducing the campus practicum requirement for all graduate students and establishing many of the sites where they serve throughout the state, Manning said.

“Memorial services will be held at the annual meetings of ACPA and NASPA. Donations in Gribbons’ memory can be made to the UVM Jackie Gribbons Fund that supports graduate student travel to professional conferences. At Gribbons’ request, there will not be funeral service,” according to the release.