University of Virginia Library

RESOLUTION COMMENDING MR. T. KEISTER GREER

WHEREAS, T. Keister Greer's roots extend deep into the soil of his ancestral Franklin County, though he was born in West Virginia, to the point where he virtually personifies Rocky Mount; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer matriculated in the College in 1939 but left the University in 1942 to serve in the United States Marine Corps, and ended the war in the Okinawa campaign as executive officer of the First Battalion and company commander of Charlie Company of that battalion of the First Marines; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer returned to the University in the fall of 1945 and left in 1948 with both the B.A. and the L.L.B.; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer, as a student, showed an early interest in intercollegiate athletics as a good trackman in addition to being a member of the Raven Society and the Law Review Staff , as weel as other activities; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer returned to Rocky Mount to begin the practice of law, but soon extended his activities to California as well and continued his bi-coastal practice, with distinction, until his retirement; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer has recently published a serious and comprehensive scholarly work, The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935, an elegantly written account of the longest trial in the history of Virginia jurisprudence; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 1995 by Governor Allen and reappointed by Governor Gilmore in 1999; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer has served the Board with great distinction as Chair of the Educational Policy Committee and Chair of several special committees, but above all for the elegance, erudition and wisdom he has brought to Board discussions and debates; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Greer, a published author herself and a painter, has been Mr. Greer's helpmate and advisor in every way during his service on the Board; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Greer's second term on the Board of Visitors ends on February 28, 2003;

RESOLVED that the Board of Visitors thanks T. Keister Greer for his devoted service to the Board and to the University of Virginia.

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Mr. Rainey asked Mr. Crutchfield to read a letter he had written to commend the Rector; other letters from Board Members, at the Rector's request, are to be mailed to the Rector. Mr. Goodwin also read comments that he had written. Mr. Crutchfield then read a resolution commending the Rector. The Rector recused himself from asking for action and instead deferred to Mr. Goodwin who as Rector pro tempore asked for a motion to approve the resolution. The following resolution was adopted.