People who worked with the former MSU employee charged with embezzlement reacted Tuesday to the allegations brought against a familiar face in the school.
One alumnus of the MSU School of Journalism described Raye Grill, a former administrative assistant, as a "pillar" of the school.
"She was actually an undervalued pillar," said Bryan Eder, a 1998 graduate who has known Grill for 11 years. "She never got the accolades for what she did.
"She was somebody who was behind the scenes, but always there to pat you on the back."
Grill was arraigned on two counts of embezzlement on Thursday.
She is accused of taking more than $20,000 from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association and taking between $1,000 and $20,000 from the School of Journalism, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said.
The preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for Friday, was adjourned, Dunnings said.
Grill did not return calls made by The State News on Tuesday.
Eder said he was surprised by the allegations.
"My hope is that the issue is resolved quickly and that Raye and her family, regardless of the outcome, can move forward with their lives and move past this," Eder said.
Eder said he first met Grill when he was a freshman at MSU and said she was someone many people in the school would feel comfortable going to.
"She would give informal advice and when you were having a bad day, she was the kind of person you could go to to help you think through the problem and give you a shoulder," Eder said.
Although he said he did not know her very well, adjunct journalism instructor Victor Rauch said he found Grill to be the person to go to when he needed something as an instructor.
"She was always inquiring about 'how are you, how's your family,'" said Rauch, president of The State News Board of Directors. "Just a really friendly, caring person came through."
Bonnie Bucqueroux, coordinator of the Victims and the Media Program at the School of Journalism, said the situation was "very sad."
"I think, unfortunately, it's a far more common problem than we realize," Bucqueroux said. "Not on campus, but in society."
The School of Journalism has implemented new procedures to prevent future problems, said Jane Briggs-Bunting, director of the school and a member of The State News Board of Directors.
"One of my hopes through this process is that both the school and MIPA get fully reimbursed," Briggs-Bunting said. "To me, it's our obligation to our students and to the tax-payers."
