story: Betsy Compton | photos: contributed
Jason Green came to Livingston with a plan. He wanted to continue his education and earn a bachelor’s degree that would complement the associate’s degree he earned in funeral service education, and he did that. But he says that his experience at Livingston University (now the University of West Alabama) added more to his life and future than merely two years of higher education. Leaving with a degree under his belt, he says that what stands out to him most is what was under his feet.
With a clear vision and plan for his future, transferring from Mississippi with an applied science degree into Alabama and advancing on his degree path would require that Green take an additional English, math, and history course. Hoping for a fast track, that seemed like a major setback.
“I was mad about it,” he recalls. “But the three courses I was so mad about taking would come to be the three that impacted me the most.”
As Green reflects on his Livingston years, the memories of his alma mater quickly point to the professors and administrators who shaped his academic journey into one of leadership, civic engagement, and a lifetime of learning. He spouts off names that would prompt most living generations of his fellow alumni to take a deep dive into their own memories.
“Bowen, Smith, Springer, Carr, Dr. Beatty—” he begins, then pauses, with a gasp of sorts. “Lord, God, help me—Dr. Patricia Beatty, oh my heart. I loved Dr. Beatty. I despised reading, despised writing—all of that—until Dr. Beatty.”
Had he listened to his friends’ advice, he wouldn’t be able to offer those sentiments.
“They said she was hard,” he said with a smile. “And I learned that was true, but I also found that she believed in me and encouraged me. And to this day, I read, I travel worldwide, I know of the poets and literary giants because of Dr. Beatty.”
He recalls what he believes is the best lesson he ever learned from Beatty, who was named emeritus professor of English upon her retirement in 2010 following 28 years of service at the University, including two years as dean of the College of Liberal Arts. She died in 2019, and a scholarship honors her legacy.
“It was the night of our final,” he thinks back. “She walked in, put down a stack of blank paper, and she said, ‘Tell me what you learned,’ and walked out of the room. I was horrified. I wrote for two and a half hours. Years later, I asked why she did that. She said that she wanted to engage our minds and make us remember and think.”
Concrete Under His Feet
Remember, Green’s objective was to add what he thought were the business credentials he needed to pave the way for a successful career in mortuary science and funeral service.
“She applied everything we read to modern day,” he said. “I graduated with a business degree, but I can say with certainty that Dr. Patricia Beatty was one of the most influential people in my life. She put concrete under my feet.”
His memories shift to history and math classes—the other two he was “mad about.”
“David Bowen wanted us to understand history, to understand that it can’t be changed and has to be learned,” he said. “Then there’s Micky Smith.”
Smith, a longtime math professor, is often regarded as the first person to help many students successfully navigate the world of mathematics, and for Green, the same applies.
“I despised math,” he says firmly “because I was one of those ‘I’m never going to use this’ students. But Mr. Smith seemed to always call on me in class, and I’d wonder to myself why he would do that to me. But he would remind me that going into business meant I would need to be able to compute in my head and get the answer out mid-conversation. Head math.”
Like Beatty, Smith gave Green more than the single course description would suggest he would learn.
When he enrolled, Green was sure that he was simply adding some business and technology education to his name—not the likes of composition, and certainly not poetry or the classics of British literature.
He became a member of the editorial staff of the Livingston Life, the student-published newspaper on campus. Journalism had been a passion of his at East Mississippi, as well, and he found that it offered him an added level of engagement and insight on campus in Livingston.
“We did some investigating! And we were the staff that printed in green instead of red,” he recalls, chuckling about some of the articles and controversial topics they covered. It was his work as part of the staff of the newspaper that allowed him the opportunity to work with staff and administrators on campus, opening his eyes to even more experiences and education than his curriculum was already providing. He was also a red-blazer wearing LU Envoy, serving the university as an ambassador among his peers, prospective students, and distinguished guests.
Beyond The Classroom
“Let me see,” he begins. “Luther Gremmels, Richard Hester, Danny Buckalew, Don Hines, Pam Stenz…” His reflections shift from classroom instruction and coursework to his role as a student worker in Webb Hall.
He was also an SGA officer, served on the editorial staff of The Sucarnochee Review, was a resident assistant for Housing, active in the Baptist Student Union and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and a slew of other honor, service, and leadership organizations. Through those, he forged lasting friendships and gained invaluable experience from the campus leaders who became mentors to him.
“I didn’t simply see them as administrators, they were like my friends. They had an open-door policy, and I believe that type of connection is so important in supporting students,” he said.
Those experiences prepared him for the community and business leadership roles he has served in and continues to explore now 30 years post-graduation. He is a lifelong Mississippi Gulf Coast Mardi Gras devotee and served as King of his Mardi Gras organization in 2009. He has served as president of a local school board and of the Carnival Association of Long Beach for 14 years.
His life is quite literally steered by the direction he received at Livingston University, from his civic engagement, social involvement, and business leadership.
He serves families in their time of need with a caring and sincere presence through Reimann Family Funeral Homes in Mississippi, demonstrating the business acumen at the core of his bachelor of science in technology degree coupled with the associate’s degree in funeral service education.
Green wanted to give back to the University that he says helped pave the way for him, and he has done that through a $100,000 unrestricted estate gift.
“I’ve taken time to reflect and call upon my 30 years of the foundation that I received at Livingston and what it has meant to me and to my family,” Green said. “I have truly come to realize how important my time there was. There are many, many ways to give back to the University, whether through financial gifts, time, talents, or other resources, and I am thankful that I have the opportunity to do this.”
Green chose for his gift to remain unrestricted—meaning the UWA Foundation is entrusted to allocate the funding to the University’s greatest need. While some donors choose to support the programs or initiatives nearest and dearest to them, such as their own college or major or an extracurricular program, Green said that was not a decision he wanted to make.
“How could I choose just one?” he quipped. “I have come to realize that the classes that meant the most to me were not necessarily the ones that were directly related to my major, but all of those that I’ve been able to apply to my life.”
One of those investigative pieces of journalism that Green and the Livingston Life staff published during his tenure was a report of faculty salary information—a piece that he recalls having sparked quite the flame, but it stirred perhaps more in his mind as it gave him insight into his professors’ compassion and commitment to their work.
“They say, ‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,’ and I think that was, and probably still is, the case for so many professors,” Green said. “They definitely were not there for the money, they were there because they cared about us as students, our futures, our well-being.”
Green takes seriously the investment that his professors and other campus leaders made in him to help him be successful as a student and after graduation.
“I often say that I received two degrees at Livingston: one in academics, and one in life lessons. I think we can honestly say as LU grads that without the time at Livingston, the people we met, the people who taught us, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Where Jason Green is today, generally speaking, is the Gulfport, Mississippi, area. But his work and continuous pursuit of education and learning take him around the globe.
“I’ve been fortunate to travel around the world, and you always take with you a snippet of what you’ve learned in Livingston,” Green said with a smile.
As his travels carry him to each map dot, he takes more than a snippet of Livingston with him.
“As I travel, Bowen and Beatty are echoing in every thought.”