During his absence, Centre hired Robert J. McMullen to be "co-president" alongside McLeod, living on campus and holding the full responsibilities of the position.

McLeod resigned following the end of World War II and spent time preaching in Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, and Louisiana, before retiring in 1981.

[13] Several months after he began his term as president, the college was gifted $480,000 (equivalent to $10.5 million in 2023) in unrestricted funds after the death of Guy Wiseman, a trustee and member of Centre's class of 1885.

[18] In December 1942, McLeod requested and was granted a leave of absence from Centre in order to serve in the United States Navy as a chaplain.

[21] James Hewlitt, dean of the college, became acting president upon his departure[22] and held the position until September 1944, when the school hired Robert J. McMullen, a Centre alumnus, to be co-president alongside McLeod, based in Danville and with the full responsibilities of the office.

He decided to return to Florida after suffering a heart attack before going back to Missouri five years later to join the faculty at Lindenwood College as a professor of religion.

He spent eighteen months working for the Pi Kappa Alpha national office, where he helped bring reforms to the fraternity's rules and ceremonies.

[27] A short time later, the church in Winter Haven at which McLeod had worked earlier in his career offered him a part-time position as a minister of visitation and counseling, which he accepted.