Leland H. Monson was born in Preston, Idaho, in 1900. He attended Weber College, the University of Utah, and the University of Stanford to earn his Associates, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Arts degrees, respectively. He spent about a decade working with the company Intermountain Knitting Co., but decided to pursue teaching instead. He was a professor at Weber and taught English, speech, and literature courses. He was a key proponent in establishing the annual debate competition at Weber which now bears his name. He was active at Weber as the English Department Chair and Head of the Humanities Department. After retiring he served in the local Rotary Club, on a board of McKay Hospital, at Golden Hours Retirement Center, and on the Utah Council for Aging. He published several books and throughout his career was known for giving great speeches, which he did frequently at religious as well as civic and community meetings. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served for several years on the Sunday School General Board.

Chronology: 1922-1924: Weber (student) 1924-1925: U of U (student, BA) 1926: U. of Chicago (student, MA) U. of Chicago and Stanford: Doctoral work 1926-1968, Professor at Weber 1927-1928 school year: teaches first debate course at Weber 1928-1929 school year: named debate director 1929-1942: Division Sales Manager and asst. Sales Manager, Intrmtn. Knitting co. 1943-: Member of Ogden Rotary club 1978: Received H. Aldous Dixon award