The Dr. Richard E. and Dolores J. Greene International Student Human Rights Scholarship
CRITERIA: One $1000.00 award given to either an international student or a student who is an asylum seeker or refugee who comes from a country where there have been documented human rights violations, with preference given to students from Haiti.
Richard Greene ’54, M.Ed. ’58, Ed.D, and his wife, Dolores (Manning) Greene ’55, have devoted their professional lives to education. Mrs. Greene was a teacher in elementary and adult education, Dr. Greene was a professor and president of several colleges and universities, including St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida.
His tenure at St. Thomas spurred the couple’s interest in helping individuals from countries where dictators, military governments, and rebel militias abuse of human rights. President Greene proposed the creation of an International Human Rights Institute at St. Thomas University as a demonstration of the University’s willingness to transform its values and beliefs into additional service to the world community. Dr. Greene was joined by law professor Siegfried Wiessner and exiled Cuban Diplomat, lawyer and political prisoner Andres Vargas Gomez in founding the Human Rights Institute. The Institute began shortly after to provide free (pro bono) direct legal services to immigrants, especially Cubans, Haitians and indigent member of the greater Miami community. During the two decades since, the Institute has flourished and now offers masters and doctorate law degrees in human rights through the School of Law under the direction of Dr. Siegfried Wiessner.
“I was thinking about that when we decided to establish this scholarship,” said Dr. Greene, who was a long-time member of the Worcester State Foundation Board. He also wanted to help WSU emulate St. Thomas’ international student body. “With students from 100 nations, St. Thomas was very diversified,” he noted. “We want the students who receive this scholarship to come from nations with documented human rights violations. This is an attempt to reach out to those students, and to create more of an international student body here at Worcester State.”
In addition to their commitment to human rights, Dr. and Mrs. Greene are strong believers in the educational value of travel. During Dr. Greene’s years as an Assumption College professor, the couple took their children ages 4-16 on a “Grand Tour” of Europe for a semester. They traveled 8,000 miles and toured 13 countries in a Volkswagen bus, staying nights at B&Bs and youth hostels. They also traveled throughout the United States and Asia. Dr. and Mrs. Greene are the proud parents of seven children and have 13 grandchildren who “continue to provide us with great joy,” said Mrs. Greene.