Dr. J. Steve Oliver

Dr. J. Steve Oliver

Dr. Oliver has been a professor of Science Education at the University of Georgia for the past 29 years; prior to that he was a professor at Kansas State University, and science teacher in both Caldwell and Wake counties in North Carolina. He has served on the Board of the College of Education at NC State since 2017.

Dr. Oliver received his Bachelor’s in Wildlife Biology and Science Education in 1977, and his Master’s in Science Education in 1983, both from NC State. He also holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.

Dr. Oliver supports a wide range of non-profit organizations, and his philanthropic interests are focused primarily on higher education. He enjoys fishing, walking in the hills of the North Carolina mountains, growing vegetables, and traveling — particularly to Asia, where he has visited 12 times.

Impact

Dr. Oliver established the Jenny Penney Oliver Scholarship Endowment as an estate gift in honor of his late wife, who had extraordinary caring for those who don’t have a voice in society and who also served as a faculty member at the University of Georgia. The endowment will provide need-based scholarship awards for undergraduate students in the College of Education.