Reiff LaFleur taught mathematics and statistics at Troy University Dothan Campus from Fall 1997 until his untimely passing in January 2022. He was born in Rhode Island into a family of professors. He enrolled at the University of Connecticut at Storrs in engineering, but after two years was offered a fast-track masters program in math at the University of Rhode Island. He then completed his PhD in 1994, taught three years at Trinity College (CT), and joined the faculty at then-TSUD in 1997.
LaFleur was known for his love of math and for his extraordinary teaching, mentoring, and tutoring. He could be found working with students late at night and on weekends.
His friends, students, family, and staff and faculty colleagues dedicated a white oak in his honor on March 1, 2022.
"The white oak is a large, strong, imposing specimen. It has a short stocky trunk with massive horizontal limbs. The wide spreading branches form an upright, broad-rounded crown. The bark is light ashy gray, scaly or shallow furrowed, variable in appearance, often broken into small, narrow, rectangular blocks and scales. The leaves are dark green to slightly blue-green in summer, brown and wine-red to orange-red in the fall. The fall foliage is showy." [Source: Arbor Day Foundation, https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeGuide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=883]
This project locates and tells the story behind the commemorative buildings, rooms, trees, and other named facilities on the Troy University Dothan Campus.