William "Bill" Grivna, 1943-2022; Was Professor Emeritus and Co-Founder of Arts & Issues and Black Theatre Workshop
William “Bill” Grivna, of St. Louis, died Tuesday, July 12 at Barnes Jewish Hospital. He was 79.
Grivna joined SIUE in September 1977, rising during his tenure from assistant professor to professor. He retired in December 2002 as a professor emeritus in the Department of Theater and Dance.
Grivna taught theater performance for decades, directed numerous plays, and gave lessons in t'ai chi. He was instrumental in program development at SIUE and co-founded SIUE’s Arts & Issues series in 1985 after having chaired “a group interested in reestablishing a cultural arts series following the demise of the Mississippi River Festival.” Learn more here. Grivna also co-founded the Black Theatre Workshop in 1999 alongside the late assistant professor Lisa Colbert.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 4-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5 at the Metcalf Theater on SIUE’s Edwardsville campus.
In lieu of flowers, contributions are suggested to the William Grivna Merit Award in Performance sponsored by the Friends of Theater and Dance. For more information, contact College of Arts and Sciences Senior Director of Development Kyle Moore at 618-650-5048 or kymoore@siue.edu.
A complete obituary is available at Legacy.com.
