Gardner Leland Green: President 1926-1944
Dr. Gardener Leland Green joined Berry as principal of the Berry Schools from 1920 to 1926, when he transitioned to serving as president of the newly founded Berry Junior College.
A native of Franklin, Vermont, Green graduated from the University of Vermont, Montpelier, in 1906 with a B.S. degree in agriculture. He taught at Thetford Academy, Vermont's oldest secondary school, from 1906-07 then served as principal of several other high schools in Vermont. He became principal of the Vermont State School of Agriculture in 1911 and took a brief leave of absence to serve the American Expeditionary Forces with the YMCA during World War I. After Green returned from France to resume his duties as principal, Martha Berry contacted him about serving as principal of the Berry schools. Green had no intention of leaving Vermont and declined to visit the schools. Martha Berry continued to pursue him for the position and it paid off in 1920 when Green and his family moved to Georgia.
Martha Berry asked Green to oversee the hiring of faculty and day-to-day operations while she took care of fundraising. He was awarded an honorary Ped.D. in 1928 from the University of Georgia and an honorary Ed.D. from the University of Vermont in 1936. Green stepped down from the presidency in 1944, two years after Martha Berry's death. At that time, the trustees combined the positions of director and president, and Green became the head of the department of education. He continued to serve in that capacity until his retirement in 1954. He remained in Rome and was active in the Berry community until his death in 1971.