Like so many of SJSU’s grads, Connie was the first person in her family to graduate from a four-year university. Although she worked fulltime throughout college, she had never had an internship even though they provide students with valuable professional experience and networking opportunities.
She decided to apply and ended up getting the internship at the real estate company, BRE Properties, Inc., Connie was hired full-time six months later upon graduating from SJSU, joining two other interns with MBAs from Stanford.

Connie’s performance was so impressive that the company leaders entrusted her with one of its most troubled assets. Weeks into her new role, Connie was flying first-class across the country to Memphis, Tennessee, to develop a budget and a strategic plan for the property to reduce, if possible, the $6 million expected loss.

After working at BRE Properties for six years and quickly moving up the ranks, Connie left the company for another opportunity, only to return 20 years later as its president, CEO, and member of the Board of Directors. She was only the third CEO in BRE Properties’ history, and would serve in that role for close to a decade before merging the company with another REIT in 2014.

“Becoming a CEO never crossed my mind growing up,” Connie said. “I didn’t even know what a CEO was. SJSU provided me the skills and the confidence to imagine that anything was possible, which is why I’m so appreciative of the school. I know what an extraordinary difference SJSU made in my life”

Because of the significant impact that her time at SJSU had on her career and life, Connie has been a loyal supporter of her alma mater and is heavily involved in SJSU affairs. Since 2007, Connie has been a member of the Tower Foundation Board of Directors, twice serving as its Chair. She has also attended numerous leadership, fundraising, and networking events hosted by the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business and the SJSU Alumni Association.

Recently, Connie made provisions for a substantial future gift to SJSU through her estate by naming the Tower Foundation of SJSU as an estate beneficiary. The unrestricted funds will be used for scholarships, research, or facilities, giving the university president broad flexibility to fulfill the most pressing initiatives or needs across campus.

Connie said she made the gift unrestricted because she recognized that California’s public universities, such as San José State, are no longer fully state-funded. These days, they are “state-supported” or only partially funded, which means funding gaps must be filled through other means.

Connie’s gift will help ensure future SJSU students will have the financial support they need to pay for their education and go on to transform their lives as Connie’s SJSU degree did for her.

The gift is not the first gift Connie and her husband, Roger Greer, have made to SJSU. Earlier they created an endowment, in honor of her professor that suggested she apply for the internship at BRE, for the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business.

Giving to SJSU is simply Connie’s way of passing on the good fortune she received from the university so students can benefit for years to come.

“It’s never been about me,” Connie said. “It’s all about: What does this school need to achieve its mission? And how does SJSU help to transform students’ lives?”