Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology Scott Greer, a social scientist with the soul of a poet, died Jan. 23 at age 73.
Born in Sweetwater, Texas, Greer showed early on that his restless intellect would not be limited to a particular subject or discipline.
A childhood interest in literature and music followed him to Baylor University, where he published a literary magazine called Crescendo. During that time he published works by such major writers as Octavio Paz, John Gould Fletcher and Henry Miller.
After traveling and writing poetry for a few years, he enrolled at UCLA, where he earned his M.A. degree and Ph.D in sociology in 1952.
He joined UWM in 1974, after having already established himself as one of the premier experts on urbanism in the country.
A prolific writer, he authored or co-authored 24 books, including seminal studies The Emerging City (1962) and The Logic of Social Inquiry (1969).
According to Assistant Chancellor William Mayrl, Greer brought to UWM not only the focused eye of a specialist, but the wide-ranging curiosity of a true humanist.
"What always impressed me was that at a time when sociologists were becoming more focused on narrower and narrower studies, Scott was bringing more and more of the world to his work," explained Mayrl. "The man was amazing in terms of what he read and what he did.
"The good thing for his students and his colleagues was that he was able to incorporate things like his love of music and his readings in philosophy into his approach to sociology. He was an inspiration to a lot of us for bringing all of his knowledge and skills to his studies."
Greer, who died of complications from cancer, is survived by his wife, Ann, a professor of sociology at UWM, a son and a daughter, and a sister.
A memorial service is tentatively planned for April. More information will follow in the next issue ofUWM Report.