DA Leonard
DA Leonard earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Letters & Science. He was born in Milwaukee and had an extensive career working for Milwaukee County and the Federal Government in social service and accounting roles.
DA established the William M. Ross, Jr. “Michael” Criminal Justice Scholarship Fund to honor his husband. Michael, a 1999 UWM College of Letters and Science graduate, worked as a Medical Record Administrator at Milwaukee County Medical Complex until that hospital closed. He subsequently worked at the Milwaukee County House of Correction as a Correction Officer. Over the few years he worked there, he was promoted to Sergeant after two and a half years. After another two years in that rank, he was promoted to Lieutenant. Michael was promoted to Correction Manager (equivalent to Captain) in 2005. Due to pancreatic cancer that he was diagnosed with in 2007, Michael was forced to take a medical retirement in 2009. He fought the cancer for 16 years, finally succumbing in the fall of 2024.
Impact
DA has created several scholarships at UWM to honor and support the people and issues for which he is passionate: the Leonard Family Anthropology Fellowship, the Ross-Leonard Scholarship, the DA Leonard Film Scholarship, and the W. Michael Ross Scholarship.