Vanessa Hammond Vanessa Hammond tries to “grant” every wish Lee University has. Or at least she tries to get other people to. As the founder and director of the Office of Grants, Hammond has worked with major foundations to acquire funding for various programs at Lee. A 1991 graduate of Lee College with a degree in English and a 1993 graduate of Wake Forest with a masters in English, Hammond is well equipped to write the proposals needed to successfully acquire grants. “I’m not really a writer in the creative sense but that’s not really what you want in a grant writer,” said Hammond. “This job is more about research, detail and organization. You do have to write but clearly and concisely so it’s different from what people think of as a writer.” The Office of Grants was founded in 1997 when Hammond was expecting her twin boys, Will and Graham. Prior to that, Hammond was no stranger to Lee administration. She had started the office of Academic Services in 1993, taught Literature and Gateway classes until a few years ago and served as the Interim Assistant Academic Dean in 1996. So when Lee needed a director for a new office to begin writing grant proposals for Lee, Hammond was a perfect candidate for the task. “I wanted a job with flexibility and was more project-oriented instead of being in an office all day,” she said. And Lee was poised to be a serious competitor for grants, having taken on university status and grown in population since Hammond’s days as a student. “We were in a good position to begin seeking grants and begin building relationships with foundations. It’s a long-term process and takes many years before your proposal is even considered.” Hammond began the process and, in recent years, Lee has begun to see the fruits of her labor. “We’ve really broken through and received some grants from significant foundations,” says Hammond of her success. Some of those achievements include grants from the Teagle Foundation which benefited Alumni Relations, the Lily Endowment which funds the Poiema Project, the Dr. Scholls Foundation, and the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation which funds scholarships for female students. The grants range in size from $5,000 to $2 million. Federal grants have also been on Hammonds list of successes including a Department of Education grant to assist with the Latin-American studies program and a grant from the National Science Foundation to the science department. “One thing I really enjoy about my job is that it’s different every day and I get to work with people all across the institution,” said Hammond. “So, I work on a grant to educate math teachers and I get to learn about that subject and study algebra. I learn every time I work on a new proposal and I get to work with someone new each time.”             Her ability to keep up with challenges and to focus on many projects at a time comes in handy at home as well as at work. Hammond is the mother of two 8-year-old boys as well as two-year-old Ella whom the Hammonds adopted in 2005 from China. Hammond has been married to Dr. Jerome Hammond, Assistant Vice President of University Relations at Lee, for 12 years.             So, as long as wishes are coming true at Lee, you can be sure that Vanessa Hammond is still at work - Lee University’s own fairy godmother.