Page 25 - Laker Connection Spring 2015

sisted on becoming one of Clayton State’s first Corporate Partners when the program launched. Now, two years later, the University’s Corporate Partners Program boasts interna- tional, national, regional, and local members. He continues to encourage businesses he comes in contact with to become active members of this program.
Understanding that faculty is a precious resource that drives education for our students, Leonard also played an instru- mental role in establishing the Clayton State University Pro- fessorship program. He led the Foundation investment committee to create a Trustee Quasi Endowment and desig- nated the funds generated to be used as a donor match. His foresight, along with the efforts of the Foundation Board, and generous trustees, have enabled six outstanding faculty each year to be named University Professors -- a two-year honor with a $5,000 per year salary supplement. Heritage Bank funded one of the first University Professorships.
He also has a long-time relationship with Clayton State Ath- letics, including sponsorship for the Heritage Bank Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament. In addition, some years ago Leonard realized the need for renovation of the locker rooms and Heritage Bank stepped in to supply the needed funding.
This outstanding friend of the University has taken his time over the years to present at seminars for students, speak to scholarship recipients and donors at the annual scholarship
“I have a passion to support students; really my work on the Foundation is
all about the students. I truly feel that higher education is the one factor that can change the cycle of not only their life but their entire family’s. It did for me and it motivates me to help the students who
are trying to change their lives for the better.”
luncheon and even to inspire Clayton State graduates as a recent commencement speaker saying, “This diploma will open a lot of doors, you have to find the doors, and risk making a mistake. Step through the door, the rewards are on the other side.
“I hope you will take the opportunity to step through that door,” he said during that May 2014 address. “On the other side of that door will be a community with dreams of its own. You will have the awesome opportunity to make those dreams become real, as you have made your own dreams come real.”
Currently he serves as chair of the Foundation Investment Committee, but he has also twice been the Foundation Board chairman. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Clayton State University School of Business; as chair- man of the CSU Real Estate I, LLC, and as a manager of LLC II. As a devoted supporter of the Laker athletic pro- grams, Moreland served as a member of the Athletic Direc- tor Search Committees.
Elsewhere in the community, he is chair-elect and director of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, along with being a board member of Life and Money Matters, a non- profit dedicated to providing financial counseling to individ- uals and couples struggling with financial challenges.
SPRING 2015 23