Richard T. Greener was the first African-American professor at the University of South Carolina, serving during the Reconstruction Era, from 1873 through 1877. On February 21, 2018 The University of South Carolina placed a statue in his honor next to the Thomas Cooper Library. About Richard T. Greener Greener was the first African-American graduate of Harvard University. In addition to teaching philosophy, Latin, and Greek at USC, Greener served as librarian and helped to reorganize and catalog the library's holdings, which were in disarray after the Civil War. Greener was the only black professor at a southern university during Reconstruction and it would be decades before another black professor would be appointed at USC. While a faculty member at South Carolina, he also attended the School of Law. His law degree and law license were found in Chicago and later obtained by USC. After leaving South Carolina, Greener served as dean of the Howard University School of Law, as a diplomat for the United States in Vladivostok, Russia, as secretary of the Grant Memorial, and he worked in private law practice. Greener was born Jan. 30, 1844 and died in 1922.