An accomplished Hollywood screenwriter, Stu Krieger turned his attention to teaching 20 years ago after his wife, the actress Hillary Horan, told Krieger it brings out the best version of himself.

More than 100 people attended a retirement ceremony for Krieger on May 28 in a UCR Arts building theater. About a dozen colleagues, former students, and the dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, spoke in a farewell-for-now that featured equal shares of laughter and emotion. Speakers used words including “mentor” and “sensei.”

A scholarship in Krieger’s name will allow his mentorship to continue beyond retirement. Next year, aspiring undergraduate screenwriters in UCR’s Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production will have a chance to compete for the inaugural Krieger Family Writing Scholarship. The scholarship was announced at the retirement ceremony for Krieger, a professor in the Department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production.

In its first year, there will be a $1,000 award, but thereafter $2,000 will be applied by the university directly to the selected student’s tuition and fees. This scholarship is underwritten by Krieger and Horan.

Robin Russin, who was chair of the hiring committee that hired Krieger, said at the ceremony that “two people have profoundly affected this department,” naming Krieger and former department chair Eric Barr, who was present at Krieger’s retirement.

“In film and drama there is a character called a mentor. There is a story pattern, which is loss. Loss of the mentor is an essential part of the storytelling,” said Russin, a professor of screenwriting and playwriting. “Stu has been our genuine, wise mentor. He was always the one we knew had the smartest, deepest, wisest answer.”

“He is the kind of professor a student gets once or twice in a lifetime,” said UCR MFS graduate Amanda Biggs, a screenwriter and comedian. 

The last speaker was Krieger. He recounted a story about how a boyhood illness prevented him from going on stage in a starring role as Huck Finn.

“Today, I got to be Huck Finn,” said Krieger, who was profiled in a 2023 UCR Magazine article. “I got to attend my own funeral. Everyone should get to be at their own funeral, to hear about so much love, to have it reflected back.”

In an interview several weeks before the ceremony, Krieger said he has learned as much as he has taught. “Many of our students are first generation college kids. The life experience they were bringing to the classes just enriched me.”

Krieger took over as chair of the theatre department following Barr’s illness. There is an Eric Barr Endowed Acting Fund in Barr’s honor.

“As my retirement approached, I decided I wanted to do something similar. I wanted to support writers the way Eric’s scholarship supports our actors,” Krieger said.

He said the scholarship transcends its monetary value by cultivating a community of writers and mentors. Krieger knows this from his earliest days in Hollywood, where he has writing credits that include the full-length feature cartoon classic “The Land Before Time” and remakes of Disney classics such as “The Parent Trap” and “Freaky Friday.” He built a network of colleagues and friends over 30 years as a screenwriter and shares that with his students, inviting to class the likes of Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, and Jon Landau, who produced “Avatar.”

Students asked how he knows all these people and can get them to show up. Krieger responded, “It's important. Here’s the lesson I want to teach you all: I was in the business for 30 years, and I wasn't a jerk.”

The scholarship application asks students to write a one-page letter explaining why students are applying and why it matters to them. They must also submit a five-page writing sample.

“We're looking for some promise that makes us believe the student can go on and have a career as a writer and this money will help them get through their education, hopefully, a little more debt free,” Krieger said.

The call for applications for the inaugural scholarship will go out to students in April 2026. It will describe eligibility requirements and the rules for applying. The winner will be announced in June 2026 at the theater department’s Culmination Celebration. The Culmination Celebration, an event Krieger founded, is a senior showcase in which films are shown and live performances are offered.

Contributions are accepted to the Krieger Family Scholarship.