Earlier this month, UNC Wilmington lost a well-beloved faculty member who founded the department of computer science. Barbara Ann Greim passed away April 2, 2014. Faculty and students who loved her remember her humility and dedication to the computer science department.

“She really cared for the students a lot. She would work with you—if you had problems with stuff, you can go in and see her,” said Steve Perry, a former student and long-time staff member of UNCW.

Perry, who graduated from UNCW with a degree in computer science in 1991, said, as a professor, Greim was very dedicated to her students both inside and outside the classroom.

“She always had a real positive attitude toward things. [Whenever] you went to her with a complicated problem…she always had a smile on her face,” Perry said.

Greim, who was born in Philadelphia, Pa., joined the UNCW faculty in 1969, prior to receiving her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970.

Ron Vetter, professor in the department of computer science, said he met Greim in 1993 when they were both working in the mathematical sciences department.

Having served as a faculty member of the department of mathematical sciences since 1969, Greim developed a passion for computer science, which led her to head the department of computer science as interim chair in 1998, serving as the first female chair of the department.

Fletcher Norris, a retired faculty member of the computer science department, said he and another colleague, Fred Tony, helped Greim establish the department. Greim took the most initiative, however, in developing the department of computer science into the successful program it is now.

“She did all the foundational work—setting up policies, procedures [and] operational details in the department that we still use today,” said Vetter, who served as Greim’s assistant chair from 1998 – 2000.

Vetter notes Greim would not have wanted recognition even in her passing.

“[Barbara] was a very humble sort of person. She wouldn’t have wanted to be recognized,” Vetter explained.

In spring 2000, Greim retired from her position after more than three decades. In a farewell message, she wrote to faculty and students of the department, emphasizing the necessity of establishing the department of computer science.

“No UNCW department required any computer science courses when I joined the faculty in 1969…When I took responsibility for teaching [FORTRAN], I could not have imagined the changes over the next 31 years,” Greim wrote.

FORTRAN was the first computing course section in introductory programming available for students in the department of mathematical sciences, before it became the department of computer science.

Emma Kay Thornton, administrative assistant in the department and long-time friend of Greim since 1997, said the department is still using policies and procedures that Greim initiated during her time as chair.

 “She began that department,” Thornton said. “She laid the foundation.” 

Thornton revealed that while Greim was an extremely private person, one of her passions was gardening.

“She loved gardening. Her entire backyard was a garden. It was amazing,” Thornton said. “She was such a strong woman, not only emotionally strong, but physically. She had brought in big old blocks of concrete and made beds around her garden.”

Thornton added that unknown to those who worked around her, Greim was also a NASCAR fan.

 “She was an avid NASCAR fan…Who would’ve thought it?” Thornton amused.

Thornton admitted she even had future plans to take Greim to a NASCAR race before Greim’s untimely passing.

“She followed NASCAR all the time…I was hoping one day, ‘Maybe one day I could take her to a race but never did,’” Thornton said regrettably.

 Shortly before Greim’s retirement, the department of computer science gave Greim a surprise NASCAR-themed party.

 “She would have never have wanted us to make a big deal of her retiring, but I knew that once we did, she [appreciated] it,” Thornton said.

One major piece of her legacy Greim established years before her passing was the Computer Science Chairs Scholarship, a $1,000 merit scholarship annually awarded to UNCW computer science majors in either the undergraduate level or graduate level.

 

Vetter said the scholarship was originally supposed to be named after Greim; however, Greim refused to be publicly acknowledged for any accolades.

In a 2006 oral interview with Voices of UNCW, Greim revealed her reasons behind establishing and funding the Computer Science Chairs Scholarship for students.

“I’ve never had any siblings. I’ve never been married. I’ve never had children. My parents are dead. So I don’t have any family,” Greim said. “And I decided that one of the things that I wanted to do in my will was to make sure that this scholarship continued. So I’ve made provisions in my will to turn this into an endowed scholarship.” 

Because of those early provisions that Greim made in her will, there will be always be a Computer Science Chairs Scholarship.

Faculty and former students remember Greim’s legacy as one filled with a passion for teaching computer science classes, a dedication toward her students and a humility that rings louder than her accomplishments.

“You just always felt relaxed when you came around her, [and] you always felt she really cared about what was going on,” Perry said. “I never saw her mad [or] get upset with anybody.”

Thornton recalls the last time that she saw her friend in December 2013.

“I regret it now, but we get busy with our lives…but she didn’t expect for me to drop everything I was doing and come and visit her,” Thornton said. “It makes me realize not to put off things.”

Vetter said he will miss Greim’s passion for her students and for the department of computer science.

“She was always very helpful in providing good advice, [and] she was a very strong advocate for the department as well,” Vetter said.

Above all, Thornton explains that she will miss Greim’s generous spirit the most.

“She’s just that kind of person: very humble, very sweet—would do anything for anybody,” Thornton said.