Leslie Lee Ellis Jr. was born on September 13, 1945 in Norfolk, Virginia. Ellis attended Tulane University where he received a B.S. in 1948 and an M.S. in 1949, both in biology. He married his wife, Dorothy Copes Diboll on December 27, 1949, with whom he has four children. Ellis obtained a doctorate in biology from the University of Oklahoma in 1952. Professionally, Ellis served as a professor of zoology, moving from a tenured position to department head of biology at Mississippi State University. He then moved to Florida Technological University to serve as a profesor and chair of the biological science department. At FTU Ellis served as the Dean and Associate Vice President of Graduate Studies and Research through the seventies, until becoming acting President in 1978, when the name was changed to the University of Central Florida. After serving as acting President he became the Vice President of Academic Affairs, a positon which he held until 1987, when he became the d! irector of the Office of Research Park Affairs and the Interim Dean of the College of Health and Public Services. Ellis retired in 1990, returning briefly to the University to serve as interim Vice President of Research in 1993. Ellis and his wife continue to reside in the Central Florida area.
From the guide to the Leslie L. Ellis Papers., 1967-1986, 1978-1980, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, )
