by Maria SCRIVANI
She says shes proud of all hes accomplished. He says he couldnt do
any of it without her. If theres any concern over the future of the University at
Buffalo in the new millenium, a few moments spent with that institutions first
couple, Bill and Carol Greiner, will dispel it. UB is clearly in good hands.
Bill Greiner19434th grade at St. Josephs School. |
Eight years ago William R. Greiner was appointed to the UB presidency by the Chancellor
and Board of Trustees of the State University, following an extensive nationwide search.
It was the culmination of a distinguished career that branched into Buffalo in
1967when the former UB Law School Dean Jacob Hyman recruited him for his faculty.
Prior to that Bill was a faculty member in the School of Business at the University of
Washington in Seattle. He received a bachelors degree in economics from Wesleyan
University and subsequently earned three degreesa masters in economics, a masters in
law and a doctorate in lawfrom Yale University.
His areas of scholarly specialty include taxation and government finance, real property,
real estate transactions, municipal law and municipal finance. He is the co-author (with
Harold J. Berman, Harvard University and Samir N. Salima, Emory and Henry College) of
The Nature and Functions of Law.
This impressive resume is gently mocked by its subject in his trademark self-deprecating
way. I envisioned a life as a lawyer, says Bill Greiner.
I became an entertainer.
Carol and Bill, 1956Bills college graduation. |
Sharing his lifes stage is his wife, the former Carol Ann Morrissey. The two met as
youngsters in their hometown of Meriden, Connecticut, where Carol was, from early on, the
real entertainer. From age five throughout her high school years she danced as one half of
a duet that also featured a dear friend who grew up to be the famed childrens book
illustrator and author Tomie DePaolo. The couple performed throughout Connecticut and even
did the industrial show circuit in New York City. They won several competitions.
Bill and CarolCarols Senior Prom in 1954. |
Bill and Carols wedding, 1957. |
Tomie and Bill were high school classmates, Carol recalls. Tomie went on to
Pratt Art Institute following high school. He began by illustrating others books and
soon went on to his own award-winning works. Carol is still in touch with her old dance
partner.
Bill Greiners Senior Class photo from Meriden High School. |
For her part she wanted to continue on in the dance worldbut her mother steered her
toward college instead. Carol channeled her considerable energy into a dual major in
physical education and physical therapy at the University of Connecticut, nurturing her
love of performance through participation in modern dance class and theatrical
productions.
After college she entered the stewardess training program of American Airlines, flying for
the first time in her life to attend the classes in Chicago. Considering the vivaciousness
and gentility that mark her personality to this day, its no surprise she was chosen
outstanding graduate.
Carola stewardess with American Airlines. |
As a stewardess in a time when flying was still a gracious adventure, Carol had many
interesting experiences, including serving on the special flights that transported
refugees from the Hungarian uprising to new homes in America. On West Coast runs she
frequently met celebrities. One time a bored Gene Kelly volunteered to help her serve
lucky passengers their breakfasts.
Tomie DePaolo and Carol, 1949. |
Tomie DePaolo and Carol at Tomies 60th birthday party. |
Though Carol loved her work, she was also in love with Bill Greiner, and when he proposed
she bowed to then-company policy forbidding married stewardesses and left the airline. One
of Americans top executives rewarded her sterling service with a wedding gift of a
90-day pass to anywhere the airline served. The newlyweds went all over the country on
their high-flying honeymoon, stopping in hotels affiliated with the airline. At this time
Bill was the novice air traveler.
Reality soon set in as Bill returned to Law School and Carol took on new employment with
Connecticut Blue Cross and Blue Shield. They lived in a student housing projectWorld
War II Quonset huts which had housed veterans returning to school at the wars end.
The Greiners had the first of the four children they would have in five years. Money was
scarce but never ideas, so Bill and a friend acquired a concession selling milk,
sandwiches and snacks in the law school dormitory, Carol serving as chief sandwich maker.
Appropriate to the law school location, they called the venture Equity Chow.
Both Bill and Carol have especially fond memories of this time, of the simple
accommodations and the warm friendships they shared with other young couples also working
their way through graduate and professional school.
Asked if she ever misses those carefree days, Carol Greiner is quick to respond, I
have had many more exciting and better adventures since. She and Bill moved to
Seattle when he was offered an appointment to the faculty at the University of Washington.
The Greiners: (left to right) Susan, Dan, Carol, Kevin, Bill and Terry in 1972. |
Carol, a gardener at heart, wanted to landscape their Seattle property. Bill, who had no
interest in yardwork, was persuaded to tend the little ones and make supper on Sundays so
Carol could spend the afternoon outdoors. At first the dinners were not great,
Carol says diplomatically. But he got better. Soon Bill found he enjoyed
cooking and a lifelong hobby was kick-started. Today he cooks for the big holidays and
other family events.
The couples showcase Amherst home, owned by the University at Buffalo Foundation, is
managed by Carol, whose official title is SUNY Associate to the President. She is
the best advancement and development officer the university has, says Bill, who
credits his wife with, among many other things, a considerable talent for working a
room. While the two often attend events together she represents him on occasions
when he cannot be there in person.
President William R. Greiner received the Medal Merentibus, the highest distinction given to persons of special merit from Polands Jagiellonian University. |
With the able assistance of university-employed staff, they entertain between 3,500 and
5,000 people in their home annually. In one recent year, Carols personal calendar
showed 210 days with at least one UB-related event to attend. She saves the
university at least two staff people, is the way Bill puts it.
An enormous amount of what we do is ceremonialand that means evenings,
he adds. We attend athletic events. A couple of times a year we eat with the
students in the dorms. Through all this, Carol is my partner. The truth is Id be
much more reluctant to do a lot of things I do if she didnt come with me...It sounds
trite, but its like that line from the movie Jerry Maguire. She
completes me.
Carol with their granddaughter, Kelsey Greiner, 1995. |
Pa and grandson, Connor Keenan, 1994. |
Bill and Carol at the Winter OlympicsNagano, Japan, 1998. |
University activities dominate their lives but the Greiners are also firmly committed to
the ideal of public service in the larger realm. From early on in their marriage, Carol
has been involved with a number of community projects. She was a longtime member of the
Kiwi Club, the association of former American Airlines stewardesses, helping to organize a
national alliance of stewardess clubs. While in Seattle, she organized a campaign to raise
funds for the establishment of the first kidney dialysis center in that city. She was a
PTA member for nearly 20 years, served as Cub and Girl Scout leader and helped organize
the first Teen Center in Amherst. She has since served on numerous boards, including the
American Association of Universities Partners Board and a term as chair of the National
Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges Council of Presidents and
Chancellors Spouses. Locally she serves on the boards of Bethel Head Start, Language
Development Program and the Amherst Youth Foundation as well as many honorary board
appointments.
The Greiner Family, 1997. |
Bills long list of past and present memberships include Studio Arena Theatre,
Buffalo Philharmonic, Greater Buffalo Partnership, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise Council, the
United Way and Success by Six. He has been consulted for his expertise on municipal
government issues by the Mayor and Common Council of Buffalo, the Erie County Executive
and the Town of Amherst Board of Supervisors. Hes also a key player in the local
healthcare system, representing the community as a board member of Kaleida Health and as
president of UB, which trains many of the areas health care providers.
Making a positive impact on the local community as well as raising the level of discourse
on public issues such as the Peace Bridge project is what UB should be doing, according to
the gospel of Bill Greiner. We definitely have a role in public
servicethats what public universities do outside of their scholarship and
their teaching...I have worked very hard at trying to bridge the gap between the
university and the community, he says; including trying to heal old wounds that
continue to fester in some quarters about whether or not UB should have built an Amherst
site. As Bill sees it, We left the corner of Main and Bailey for two-thirds of what
we dobut were still very active in the city; we havent left. Weve
got a foot in both the county and the city.
Bill at a University at Buffalo football game. |
Bill golfing. |
The latter statement gives a good indication of Bill Greiners views on regional
government, and its efficacy as we approach the 21st century. UB is poised to move forward
with alacrity, and he credits the universitys outstanding leadership
teamfrom vice presidents to deans and the senior faculty with propelling the
institution ahead. We have managed to get through an extremely difficult eight
yearsfiscally, for the State of New Yorkand weve managed to maintain a
high-quality institution and to keep growing.
Bill with Harley, First Dog. |
Schmata and Asal. |
Given their very public profiles, its a struggle for the Greiners to find private
time but they try to take at least one day or evening a week offthat is,
not scheduling any functions. In summer they spend time at their home on the Canadian
shore, where they both find sanity. They entertain their brood, which now
includes 10 grandchildren. Two more are on the way. They play golf. And this August, they
will celebrate their 42nd wedding anniversary; four decades of what can only be described
as a perfect pairing.
Maria Scrivani is a freelance writer.