Outstanding Alum: Impact On Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement
A lifelong human services professional and advocate, Luella “Lu” Landis devoted her career to creating the best outcomes for those she served. Now retired, she worked as a school psychologist, as well as in the fields of education, public health, and social services.
Landis holds both her bachelor's and master's degree from UHart’s College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions. Her academic training in elementary education and school psychological services prepared her for her professional roles. She became a school psychologist certified both in Connecticut and nationally, as well as a licensed psychological examiner in Maine.
In addition to an accomplished career, Landis devoted much of her time and attention to the causes that meant the most to her. She has served as a member of several organizations, including the MARC:
Community Resources Board, an agency serving adults and children with intellectual disabilities, where she was the vice chairperson for many years; the Cromwell Committee to Support People with Disabilities; and the Senior Services Commission for the Town of Cromwell, which she also chaired. Landis was the vice chair of her local Conservation Commission, and was involved with the Commission's subcommittees for nine years. In 2010, she joined the Board of the Mattabeseck Audubon Society, where she still serves as vice president. This chapter provides birding and nature study opportunities for adults and children in Middlesex County.
Since retiring in 2000, Landis has continued to share her talents with the world. In 2023, she authored and self-published A Green Canoe and Other Essays, a unique collection of mostly nature-related essays.
This year marks 60 years since Landis met her husband, George, in the campus bookstore during the summer of 1963; they were married as students in 1964. Today, nearly six decades later, the Landises reside in Cromwell, Connecticut.