Ora Miner Leland (1876-1962) was born in Grand Haven Michigan on 28 June to George Spencer and Harriett Elizabeth (Perkins) Leland. He received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan in 1900. In 1898 he worked in the office of the Surveyor General of Florida and from 1900-1903, Leland served on the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. From 1903-1920, Leland taught at Cornell University. He was a professor of Civil Engineering and chair of the Department of Topographic and Geodetic Engineering. From 1904-1911 he worked on the Alaska Boundary Survey as Surveyor and chief of party after which he represented the United States on the Costa Rica-Panama Boundary Commission. Leland became the Dean of the colleges of engineering, architecture and chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1920 and continued in that position until 1936 when he became Dean of Administration, Institute of Technology. He retired in 1944.