DRYDEN, NY (607NewsNow) – Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) is posthumously recognizing a longtime educator.

On February 26, the TC3 Board of Trustees presented the late Regina Grantham with the 2026 Friend of the College Award.

Grantham, Board Chair of the TC3 Foundation at the time of her passing in January 2025, was an associate professor emerita at SUNY Cortland. She led the speech-language pathology department for more than half of her nearly 30-year career.

TC3 officials, including President Amy Kremenek (right), posthumously present Regina Grantham with the Friend of the College Award, accepted on behalf of Grantham by SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum (center). Credit: TC3

In thanking TC3 for recognizing his colleague, SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum, who accepted the award on Grantham’s behalf, called her “an institution unto herself.”

Before joining the TC3 Foundation, Grantham was a founding member of the Cortland County Community of Color, a joint venture between TC3 and SUNY Cortland aimed at connecting college faculty and staff of color with the local community.

It’s the first time the award has been given since 2019, and just the 32nd time since it was created in 1987.