Excellence in Education; Elected 2008
Greenleaf graduated from Trinity College in 1939 with a B.S. In Math and Physics and received a Masters in Education there in 1953. He began teaching Math and History in Suffield in 1940 but his career was interrupted in 1941 when he was drafted. Attending Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served proudly and with distinction, earning a Bronze Star and 8 campaign stars in the European Theater of Operations. Returning stateside he attended the U.S. Army Command General Staff College where he graduated at the top of his class and received the Pershing Medallion. In 1946 he returned to Suffield High School where, over the course of the next 37years, he taught math, physics and history. He served as chair of the Math and Science Departments and taught the first computer course at SHS. Additionally, Greenleaf began the guidance department and coached the golf team. In 1953 he participated in the Fulbright exchange program and spent a year teaching in Tauranga College in New Zealand. He was chosen to attend the Mathematics International Conference in England (1972), Germany (1976), the USA (1980) and Australia (1984). His impact on students is evident in the reverence with which they refer to him. Greenleaf exemplifies the best of the best that education has to offer.