Once endowed, the Donald J. Greiner Scholarship will be awarded by the Admissions Office to academically talented entering freshmen who will major in a field in The College of Arts and Sciences. Recipients of the scholarship, which is renewable, shall be residents from outside of the state of South Carolina. A scholarship committee, chaired by English professor Steven Lynn, is working with USC’s Development Office in the initial fundraising efforts for the scholarship.

“‘I minor in Greiner’ is something I hear from many undergraduates, regardless of their major, because they take every class Don Greiner teaches,” said Benjamin Franklin, English. “I’ve been involved with higher education in one way or another since the 1960s, and I’ve never seen anyone who approaches the completeness of being an academic more than he does. He is a masterful teacher and a great scholar, and he has given unparalleled service to the University.”

Greiner, who joined USC’s Department of English in 1967 as an assistant professor, was named the then-new position of associate provost for undergraduate affairs in 1993. Since then, Greiner has worked with various academic units on campus to create several undergraduate programs and services, including:

• the First-Year Reading Experience
• the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs
• the Office of Pre-professional Advising
• Preston College, USC’s first residential college
• the concept of official faculty mentors for all freshman Carolina and McNair Scholars.

During his tenure as a faculty member and administrator at USC, Greiner won 15 awards for teaching, including the AMOCO Award, USC’s highest honor for undergraduate instruction. He also directed more than 200 dissertations, master’s theses, and Honors College theses and won the John Gardner Inspirational Faculty Award and the Paul Fidler Award.

The author of 14 books and of more than 100 articles and reviews, Greiner won the University’s Educational Foundation Award for Distinguished Scholarship and held the endowed Carolina Distinguished Professor of English chair since 1987. He twice chaired the University Committee on Tenure and Promotion and also chaired the Provost Search Committee.

“My memories of Don Greiner begin even before I came to USC,” said Britt Newman, a senior. “As a senior in high school, while visiting the University, I sat in on one of Dr. Greiner's classes (it was the Modern American Poetry seminar that I later took with him) and was amazed by the active, inquisitive students and the atmosphere of discussion and questioning.

“Later, the experience of being a student in his classes lived up to the starry-eyed impression I'd gotten on that visit,” said Newman. “Dr. Greiner challenges his students to consider new views on the role of literature in human life and treats his students with a respect that encourages them to fulfill his high expectations.”

The goal of the Greiner scholarship is to continue to create and inspire knowledge.

“Funds for the scholarship might be in place for a Greiner Scholarship recipient this fall,” said Steve Lynn, chair of the English department and the Greiner Scholarship Committee. “But more likely it will be awarded next year.” Letters describing the scholarship in more detail will be sent to former students, colleagues, and administrators in the coming weeks.

Members of the Donald J. Greiner Scholarship Committee are Steven Lynn, chair, English; Gene Luna, University Housing; Ben Franklin, English; Matt Bruccoli, English; Patrick Scott, English and libraries; John Skvoretz, sociology; Kenneth Perkins, history; Margaret Perkins, English Programs for Internationals; Stuart Hunter, University 101; Novella Beskid, Fellowship and Scholar Programs; Michael Jinnette, admissions; Marsha Cole, Carolina Alumni Association; Harriette Wunder, Development Office; and Rhonda Filiatreault, Office of the Provost.

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