Era Rentfrow at her desk in the Registrar’s Office circa 1960.

Rio Grande Historical Collections

With a 40-year career as university registrar, Era Rentfrow made a permanent impact on both the university and the students enrolled during her tenure. While she was the registrar from 1922 to 1962, she frequently used personal funds to make loans to students to cover their tuition, board or books.

Rentfrow was proud of the fact that all students repaid these loans even if some took longer than others to do so. It was the desire to see students be successful that inspired her to make these loans and that investment was repaid by students and family members after she passed away in 1988. They established the Era Rentfrow endowment to benefit the university’s student loan fund to carry on her tradition.

This endowment has grown over the years, but so has the need for students to access emergency funds. In honor of Memorial Day 2006, alumni who had been students during the “Rentfrow Era” were asked to make contributions to her endowment to build its principal.

They responded in a way that reflected Rentfrow’s impact on their lives. Nearly $10,000 was received from nearly 100 individuals, bringing the total of the principal to more than $30,000.