Oscar H. and Blanche A. Joiner University Honors Program Scholarship

This scholarship was established in 1999 by Dr. Marcus and Mrs. Janice Joiner Tripp in memory of Mrs. Tripp’s parents, Oscar and Blanche Joiner. Mr. Joiner was born in Metter, Georgia in 1911, but was raised in Vidalia, Georgia. He received his B.S. in Teaching (English) from Georgia Southern College, an M. Ed. from Duke University, and did further graduate work at Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Joiner served as school principal in Alston, Belleville, Jesup, and Claxton, Georgia. He also served as Superintendent of Schools in Elberton, Georgia. He was the State School Supervisor for the First District, Director of Administration and Finance, and Associate State School Superintendent at the State Department of Education. He served as Visiting Lecturer at institutions such as the University of Georgia, Georgia Southern University, the University of Alabama, and Emory University. Mr. Joiner also served on regional and national commissions such as the Southern States Educational Conference, National Educational Finance Project, Study Commission of Chief State School Officers, staff consultant of the Georgia Committee for the General Assembly, State Director of the National Retired Teachers Association, Consultant for the Georgia Accrediting Commission, member of the Advisory Council of the Museum and Archives of Georgia Education, member of Statesboro First United Methodist Church, member of Kappa Delta Pi, member of the National Education Association, and author. Mr. Joiner passed in 1998. Mrs. Joiner was born in Statesboro, Georgia in 1914 and attended Georgia Teachers College. As a Rosenwald student, Mrs. Joiner taught elementary school in Buford, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina before returning to Georgia Teachers College to complete her undergraduate degree which she received in 1938. She taught in the Bulloch County School System and was part of the faculty of the Marvin Pittman Laboratory School at Georgia Teachers College. She volunteered in several organizations including the Girl Scouts, the Hospital Auxiliary at Emory University, and the Red Cross. She was an active member of the Statesboro First United Methodist Church until her passing in 1996. Mr. and Mrs. Joiner’s passion for education influenced their daughter to become an elementary school teacher and one of their granddaughters to become a high school English teacher. This scholarship is available to members of the University Honors Program. It will be offered as an annual renewable scholarship to four students majoring in any discipline in the College of Education as long as they remain in the University Honors Program.