Alan M. Greenberg
Alan Greenberg is a retired real estate investor and educator. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University. He became acquainted with the late film director Frank Capra after moving to Southern California. During the course of their friendship, Capra suggested that Mr. Greenberg create a Community Service Program – a non-accredited educational program that encouraged foreign-born college students to learn about American film, politics, the military, and other fields. Mr. Capra recommended Alan Greenberg teach the course, after seeing him conduct seminars on real estate and finance. His expertise in film history was noted in actress Dolores Fuller's autobiography A Fuller Life: Hollywood, Ed Wood, and Me.
Community Service Program edit
Students participating in the Community Service Program received no college credit and therefore class sizes were typically small, however the class size would increase on occasion, depending on the subject being studied. In order to keep the students interested and motivated, subjects were covered often by contacting the prominent people involved in the selected topic. After reading their biographies, guests would then be invited to speak to the class and be interviewed by Mr. Greenberg, in person or over the phone. Several of the guests came by way of Frank Capra's request for them to participate in the program. Mr. Greenberg instated a policy that the purpose of the course was to inform the students, not promote the interviewees.
Notable Participants edit
Initiated in the early 1980's, the Community Service Program featured a wide variety of participants from many different fields. Some of the more notable interviewees included: Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Forces General Andrew Goodpaster, Senator and Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, Academy Award winning film director Billy Wilder, Pulitzer Prize winning author James Michener, discoverer of the polio vaccine doctor Jonas Salk, and Senator Sam Ervin.
References edit
http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/e/Ervin,Sam_J.,Private_Papers.html
Fuller, Dolores (2009) A Fuller Life: Hollywood, Ed Wood, and Me BearManor Media p.127 http://www.amazon.com/Fuller-Life-Hollywood-Ed-Wood/dp/1593933045/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331110299&sr=8-1