Dr. John Thomas Greer, Sr.
Anthony Professor of Bible & the Humanities, Ouachita Baptist University
B.A., Louisiana College, 1958
B.D., New Orleans Baptist Seminary, 1963
Th.D., New Orleans Baptist Seminary, 1968
M.A., University of Evansville, Indiana, 1973
Post Doctoral Work, American Literature, University of Louisville,
1976
A native of Louisiana, Greer was born in 1937 and was educated
in the public schools in Claiborne Parish. After high school,
he attended Louisiana College in Pineville, Lousiana, where he graduated
in 1958 with a major in Speech and a minor in English.
After two years teaching English at Tioga High School in Rapides
Parish, Lousiana, Greer entered seminary where he received both
the B.D. and the Th.D. degrees. His dissertation was entitled,
"The Limitations of the Concepts of Sin and Forgiveness in
the Writings of Ernest Hemingway."
In the fall of 1968, Greer became an assistant professor in the
English Department of Oakland City College, a General Baptist College
in Southern Indiana. There he taught courses in Freshman
English and American Literature for the next eight years.
During those years, he pursued the M.A. in English from the University
of Evansville, Indiana, and the Ph.D. degree at the University of
Louisville in American literature.
In 1976, Greer moved to Arkansas where he became minister of First
Baptist Church in Prescott, Arkansas. While there, he taught
as an adjunct professor at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia,
Arkansas, and, at the same time, began to develop a growing interest
in regionalism.
In 1979, Greer became a fulltime professor of humanities at OBU
and began teaching courses in Freshman English, Western Culture,
and American Literature. In addition, in 1981 Greer became
one of the directors of the newly formed "Institute for Regional
Studies" at Ouachita. During his tenure at Ouachita,
Dr. Greer has co-authored the Arkansas history textbook for Fourth
and Fifth Grades entitled "Arkansas: The World Around
Us."
In 1987, Greer, along with his wife, Angie, and younger son, Kent,
spent a year at Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China, where
he taught Reading and Writing to fourth year students and American
Literature to graduate students. In addition, he taught a
special course, "The Bible and American Literature," to
the faculty of the English Department.
The year spent in China has resulted in a growing interest in
Chinese studies. In 1994, Greer returned to China, this time
to Beijing University with a group of students from Ouachita.
Since then, he has been to China seven times, read three formal
papers at professional meetings and has been instrumental in developing
a program between Ouachita and Beijing University.
In conclusion, two things seem to dominate Greer's professional
career outside the classroom - regional studies and Chinese studies.
Speaking about these two things is a way of holding onto the wonderful
region of the Upland South and expanding a vision to the other side
of the world.
Dr. Greer is available for both workshop presentations and after-dinner
speaking.
OBU Box 3658
Arkadelphia, AR 71998
870-245-5553
Contact Dr. Greer
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