Joe Greenlee ’76 was a fixture on the Wofford College campus for three decades.
Greenlee, who earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology, served as the director of public safety from 1975 to 2004. He died on Jan. 7, 2022.
Greenlee was instrumental in convincing the state legislature to pass a law allowing private colleges to send officers to the police academy for training, according to a 2004 article in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. That paved the way for Wofford’s Campus Safety to become an independent agency.
“Joe helped to oversee and implement a transformation in the role of campus safety on the Wofford campus, from the era of a very small presence into a 24/7 operation serving a student body and physical campus that was growing dramatically during his tenure,” says David Beacham ’77, senior vice president for administration and secretary to Wofford’s Board of Trustees.
Greenlee’s outgoing personality allowed him to build a rapport with students. He often called them by their first names, and encouraged them to use good judgement.
“Joe worked to bring a level of professionalism to this area,” Beacham says. “He was especially sensitive to the fine line that exists between enforcement of campus regulations and recognition of questionable judgment often found in the behavior of 18- to 22-year-olds.”
Greenlee was a veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve. He also was a member of Bethel United Methodist Church, where he was an usher, a member of various committees and a member of Opportunity Sunday School Class.