Community: Greendale Staff and Students / Characters

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Community Main Character Index
The Study Group | Other Main Characters | Greendale Staff and Students | Other Characters

Significant or recurring characters on Community who are either Greendale students or Greendale faculty members.

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Students

Recurring

Star-Burns

Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne

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Dude. My name is Alex.

Played By: Dino Stamatopoulos

A sleazy drug-dealer and student who is often a classmate and rival of the Study Group.

Actor Allusion: "Seems Greek."
Butt-Monkey:
- He's the first person bitten by the zombies in "Epidemiology", gets fired from his job thanks to the study group in "Contemporary American Poultry", gets a poisonous dart in the face from Professor Bauer in "Anthropology 101", just for starters. AND no one calls him by the name by which he wants to be called.
- In "Modern Warfare", he gets shot point-blank by Pierce while they're looting the vending machines.
Character Catchphrase: "My name--is--Alex!"
Comically Missing the Point: Every year he tries to get people to see him as more than just a silly affectation, but he does so by adding more silly affectations.
Shirley: Oh, Star-Burns, I see you added a lizard to your special hat and sideburns. Am I missing anything?
Star-Burns: Yeah, the human being underneath it all, but no one's really interested in that, are they?!
Shirley: No...
Crazy-Prepared: For how his after-death montage will have been made. Justified by the fact that he faked his death.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: Subverted in the season 3 finale when he's revealed to still be alive.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Star-Burns. Technically averted, since the character gives his name early in the series ("My name's Alex, dude!") but no one ever calls him Alex. By the end of season 2, he seems to have all but given up on people using his real name.
Faking the Dead: He is revealed to still be alive at the end of the season 3 finale, and is eventually exposed to the other characters in season 5.
Hates Being Nicknamed: It's a Running Gag that he dislikes being called "Star-Burns" (and frequently responds "My name is Alex" in irritation). Reaches a Rage Breaking Point in "Digital Exploration of Interior Design," where his violent reaction to being addressed that way is the opening shot of Greendale Civil War.
Hero of Another Story: "Investigative Journalism" reveals that he's part of a different Greendale study group, which also includes two unnamed students played by Owen Wilson and Playboy model Hiromi Oshima. While we don't learn much about them, it's implied that they're more popular and well-liked than the main study group (Buddy was only hanging out with the study group in case Star-Burns' group didn't let him join).
Hidden Depths: Subverted; despite his frustration about people only noticing his surface appearance, he appears to have little actually going on beyond that:
Annie: Star-Burns doesn't do much. I guess interesting people don't resort to growing shapes on their faces.
Hypocritical Humor: It's a source of some frustration to him that no one seems to look under the surface appearance he presents and notice the true person he is underneath. His frequent attempts to solve this problem, however, are equally superficial things like adding a hat or a lizard to his ensemble.
Jerkass: He's a self-admitted drug dealer, and it's rare for him to say anything that doesn't immediately earn asshat points.
- According to "Basic Lupine Urology", he's also a known backpack thief.
Jerkass Has a Point: In the first season he reveals that he considers Jeff a douchebag. He doesn't have any high moral ground here, but he is also not wrong.
Kavorka Man:
- He has inexplicably little trouble attracting female attention. Jeff seems to think bribery has something to do with it:
  Jeff: [Referring to chicken fingers] He gives them away so that people will act like he isn't Starburns.
- This may not be entirely far off, considering Star-Burns is also a dealer; it's not outside the realm of possibility that many of the women he attracts are drug users getting discounts.
Late-Arrival Spoiler: From late Season Three onwards, Star-Burns acts as this for several seasons of the show. Specifically, the fact that he fakes his death.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Don't call him Star-Burns, his name is Alex. Dude.
Chang: Well, then, maybe you should spend five hours every morning sculpting that into your face.
Paper-Thin Disguise: Played for Laughs: after faking his death, Star-Burns attempts to hide his identity with a haircut and a change of clothes. Yet it never occurs to him to shave off his distinctive star-shaped sideburns.
Put on a Bus: Although his character was not only very much alive, but had been set up for a full-fledged plot arc regarding the consequences of faking his death, Dino Stamatopoulos refused to reprise the role throughout Season 4, frustrated with Sony's treatment of Dan Harmon. The most he appears is on two separate bulletin board flyers in "Advanced Introduction to Finality". Come Season 5, he's back again, lurking on the borders of the campus. He certainly doesn't appear to be a student anymore.
Signature Headgear: Starting in season 2, he starts wearing a top hat all the time, to try and stop being known solely for his star burns. It fails magnificently.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His "death" kicks off the conflict leading to the season three finale arc.

Leonard

Leonard Rodriguez, né Briggs

Thanks for eating all the macaroni!

Played By: Richard Erdman

An elderly classmate and rival of the Study Group, who frequently acts like a rowdy teenager.

Ascended Extra: He's a side character during most of the show. However, in one of Jeff's "pitches" for Season 7, he becomes part of the "Sustain Greendale Committee," essentially replacing Pierce as the crotchety old man character.
The Cast Showoff: He demonstrates his talent with musical instruments, particularly guitar.
Insult Backfire: He's usually utterly unfazed by any of the insults or embarrassing revelations the study group make in their retorts to him.
Manchild: Leonard's a very old man, yet acts like a man in his twenties or sometimes younger whenever he appears onscreen.
Naked People Are Funny: In his first appearance, where he's shown swimming in a pool without a pair of trunks.
Old Soldier: He's a crotchety, elderly veteran of multiple real wars, which often comes up during the ridiculous combat situations that take place at Greendale (such as schoolwide paintball assassin, a giant pillow fight, or Thunderdome-style floor-is-lava). He hasn't lost his dead aim in old age, though.
Pandering to the Base: Invoked for parody; in "Intro to Political Science" he changes his last name to Rodriguez while running for school president to "court the Hispanic vote". The name change appears to have stuck.
The Peeping Tom: Does this due to not having cable.
Phrase Catcher: of a Mad Libs Catchphrase "Shut up, Leonard!" Usually followed by a seemingly embarrassing secret or insult.
Leonard: No such thing as bad press!
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "LEONARD'S! FOOD!! REVIEW!!"
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: He's old and he makes a habit of running around naked, insulting random people, and blowing raspberries at anyone who calls him on it.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: He claims to have participated in several wars, and this may be an explanation for his current wild and coarse nature.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Seems to have this relationship going on with Jeff; the other study group members don't exactly seem fond of him either, but Jeff in particular seems to detest Leonard.

Vaughn

Vaughn Miller

Played By: Eric Christian Olsen

"Lates!"

A ditzy stoner, hippy, foosball enthusiast and musician who dates both Britta and Annie in season one.

Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: Some of his insults against people who crosses him can be very childish at times:
This a song for Pierce, cause him so old,
His body is made of wrinkles and folds,
Stupid and ugly, he smell like a fart,
Got poo-poo in his pants and poo-poo in my heart
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite coming across as genial and laid-back, he's incredibly thin-skinned and will often jump to the worst possible conclusions, upon which he'll fly off the handle. Then he'll publicly shame the person who pissed him off with a vitriolic song.
The Cast Showoff: Performs several songs in a reggae band.
Character Development: Goes through a minor instance of it in "Romantic Expressionism" when he for the first time in the series does not write and perform a The Reason You Suck song about the person he's argued with, but instead seems to have realized that he'd behaved badly and instead writes and performs a love song as an apology.
Creator Breakdown/Take That!: In-universe, twice in a single episode. After a breakup, he writes a song called "Getting Rid of Britta." Then, after Pierce insults him, he flips out and then writes another song called "Pierce, You're a B."
The Ditz: Vaughn isn't the brightest bulb.
Girls Like Musicians: Vaughn is sort of a parody of the Mr. Fanservice cool rocker type. He's always playing guitar on the quad and is first introduced as Greendale's main musician, and both Britta and Annie are attracted to him and date him at various points on the show.
Granola Girl: A male version, and also a bit of a parody. Especially in his first episode he spends a lot of time spouting typical Granola Girl phrases and beliefs, but it becomes increasingly obvious that he doesn't have a clue what any of it means.
Mr. Fanservice: A parody of the trope. Almost nobody finds his constant shirtlessness attractive, and Jeff quickly gets annoyed by it.
New-Age Retro Hippie: Again, more a parody of the trope than a genuine example — especially since his chill, harmonious nature doesn't run very deep and he's actually rather petty and vindictive.
Put on a Bus: Transfers to Delaware for a hacky-sack scholarship at the end of Season One.
Rule of Three: Always says hello and goodbye three ways. Lampshaded by the study group, who start to count his greetings on their fingers whenever they see him and respond in kind.
Took a Level in Kindness: See Character Development above. Though he mainly plays minor roles after "Romantic Expressionism" and is Put on a Bus at the end of Season One, his development seems to have stuck since his pettiness and tendency to jump to the worst conclusions largely vanish.
Verbal Tic: He frequently abbreviates words, even brief ones. He always greets people 3 times.
Walking Shirtless Scene: To the chagrin of everyone. As Jeff points out, as he never wears a shirt and he never wears shoes, it's a wonder he doesn't die from lack of service. Later in that episode, Vaughn states that it took so long for him to get ice cream because they made him find a shirt.

Rich

Dr. Richard "Rich" Stephenson

Played By: Greg Cromer

"Doc Pottery-wood". I like it.

A friendly, charming and pleasant doctor who attends classes at Greendale. He is apparently good at everything, which earns Jeff's rivalry and hatred.

Abusive Parents: Apparently Rich's mother blamed him for his brother's death, driving him into becoming a doctor and a Stepford Smiler.
The Ace: Expert potter, prolific baker, makes the best kettle corn, does community service for fun, is likable to a tee, even gets Jeff to beg him to teach him how to be good.
Always Someone Better: Towards Jeff. He is a man of many talents and effortlessly exudes a happy, easygoing and wholesome attitude. This drives Jeff, who is trying his hardest to hide his inner insecurities behind a cool, detached attitude, completely up the wall.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Vanishes partway through season 2 without a trace.
Jerkass Ball: "Epidemiology" shows that he can be a self-centered jerk.
Mommy Issues: His mother does not like him at all.
Nice Guy: "Epidemiology" aside, he volunteers once a month in Central America to fix cleft palates, cleans up rivers, and teaches seeing-eye dogs. In his free time he makes kettle corn and takes pottery classes to unwind from the pressures of his job, he hasn't lost a patient in five years. Oh, and he'll also show you how to check for breast lumps.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Of Jeff (one-sided). To the rest of the group, the nicest and most awesome guy ever.
Stepford Smiler: Underneath his smile he has serious Mommy Issues over him not dying instead of his brother.
The Unfavorite: When flashing back to his childhood, Rich remember his mother bitterly telling him that he should have died instead of his brother.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: More of a mother-son type, revealed in the last few seconds of "Beginner Pottery".
Zombie Infectee: He gets bitten in "Epidemiology" and hides the bite, which leads to unfortunate consequences for the study group.

Magnitude

Played By: Luke Youngblood

"POP POP!"

A party enthusiast who communicates primarily by shouting "POP POP!".

Actor-Shared Background: He confesses before his "death" in "Geothermal Escapism" that he's British, like his actor.
Ascended Fanboy: In "Repilot" it's revealed that he joined the study group after Jeff and Pierce left.
Breakout Character: Parodied. Has his own catchphrase not unlike many breakout characters from '70s sitcoms. Time will tell if "Pop Pop!" will join "Ayy!" and "Dyno-Mite!" in the sitcom Hall of Fame. The working name for his character was even Poochie.
Characterization Marches On: His very first line in the series is, "Yo, yo, yo, yo! Pop pop!" It quickly becomes established that he only says his catchphrase, "Pop pop," unless it's being notably subverted.
Dawson Casting: Magnitude is 16 in Season 2, but Luke Youngblood was in his mid-twenties when he was first cast.
Empty Shell: He has little else except his catch phrase. When it's taken away from him, he suffers a full-blown identity crisis.
Everyone Went to School Together: It's revealed in the (controversial) fourth season that he went to the same high school as Annie and Troy.
Heroic BSoD: Forcing him to never say "POP-POP!" again will drive him into an identity crisis as he tries to invent a new catchphrase.
Hidden Depths: "He's awake who thinks himself asleep." (Yes, he quoted Keats.)
Iconic Sequel Character: One of the most prominent Recurring Characters but doesn't make an appearance until Season 2.
Loved by All: Absolutely everyone in Greendale loves him and enjoys every time he says his catchphrase.
Only Known by Their Nickname: It's short for "Magnetic Attitude."
Remember the New Guy?: Prior to his first appearance in season 2, Jeff is the only one in Greendale to have never met Magnitude.
Sixth Ranger: Apparently joined the Study Group after Jeff and Pierce left but went solo again.
So Unfunny, It's Funny: In the commentary, Donald Glover describes "Pop Pop" as "so not a catchphrase, it becomes a catchphrase again."
Teen Genius: Listed as 16 years old.

Neil

Played By: Charley Koontz

A fellow student at Greendale who the Study Group try to help through a serious depressive episode by playing Dungeons & Dragons. He later shows up throughout the series as a campus DJ.

A Day in the Limelight: Neil is the main protagonist and kicks off the plot of "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons".
Character Development: The events of "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" helped him overcome his suicidal thoughts, get a job as Greendale's main DJ, and gain Vicki as a girlfriend.
Chekhov's Gunman: Fat Neil is mentioned in "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" and "Asian Population Studies" before his main appearance in "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons".
The Dog Was the Mastermind: Neil boiled all the yams in "Basic Lupine Urology" except Vicki's so she would pass and not have to go to summer school.
Embarrassing Nickname: Fat Neil.
Geek Physiques: He's overweight and a fantasy nerd.
Iconic Sequel Character: One of the most prominent Recurring Characters but doesn't make an appearance until Season 2.
One-Steve Limit: The aversion of this trope, there is a second student named Neil at Greendale, and both Neils being in the same area at the time is what caused Jeff to come up with the Embarrassing Nickname.
Neil: So call him "Skinny Neil"!
Jeff: Well, he's actually not that skinny.
Neil: He's bald. He's black.
Jeff: (condescending) Well, I don't look at the world through that lens.
Ungrateful Bastard: The fact that he joins in the protest against the Study Group in "Alternate History of the German Invasion" despite the fact that one of the things being protested against is their use of the Study Room to play Dungeons and Dragons — which they were only doing in order to try and prevent Neil from committing suicide, which Neil doesn't at any time point out — makes him look rather ungrateful at least. That did happen during the 'gas leak year'. He also did have legitimate grievances with Jeff, who unwittingly created the "Fat Neil" nickname, Pierce, who pettily bullied him during the game, and Abed, who focused on game mechanics at the expense of helping. He's still quite ungrateful to the rest of them, who did nothing but help.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: By boiling the study group's yam, Neil initiated the sequence of events leading to Starburns faking his death, Professor Kane resigning, the Study Group instigating a riot and getting expelled, and Chang becoming emperor of Greendale and almost burning down the school. It may also have contributed to Todd having a nervous breakdown.

Garrett

Garrett Xander Lambert

Played By: Erik Charles Nielsen

"I may be stuck in this vent. It is too early to tell."

A rather socially and physically awkward student at Greendale who is prone to hysterics at the slightest provocation.

Ascended Extra: He's little more than a Recurring Extra in his first few appearances before being given a name and an established personality.
Butt-Monkey: "That guy's just a mess. It's like God spilled a person."
Celebrity Resemblance: Duncan: "Go kill John Lennon again, you◊ loser."
Hammy Herald: As the announcer for the Model UN competition in "Geography of Global Conflict". CRISIS ALERT!!
The Heckler: Mocks Vicki's one-woman show. Ends up teaming up with her, and makes her act even ''worse''.
Kissing Cousins: The second-to-last episode has Garrett marry the girl of his dreams...only to find out they're cousins. Chang convinces them to get married anyway.
Large Ham: Everything he says and does is in a very broad, oddball manner.
Nerd Glasses: He wears big honkin' glasses and is very socially awkward.
No Indoor Voice: His voice is rarely below an uneven, squawky yell.
Noodle Incident: At least two different rallies were set up to "save Garrett". What they're saving him from, or even what these rallies consisted of, never gets elaborated on.
Recurring Extra: He spends his first few episodes in the background, occasionally being given reaction shots and incidental lines. Later episodes grant him a name and establish him as a supporting character.

Vicki

Played By: Danielle Kaplowitz

A dance major and frequent background presence at the school. She has an intense rivalry with Pierce and eventually becomes Neil's girlfriend.

Epic Fail: Her one-woman show is mostly repeating the same few jokes. Her duo show with Garrett is even worse.
Fiery Redhead: Stabs Pierce in the face with a pencil in her first episode.
Hidden Depths
Pierce: She's a dance major, Jeff. And she likes Twinkies.
Iconic Sequel Character: One of the most prominent Recurring Characters but doesn't make an appearance until Season 2.
Leeroy Jenkins: "VICKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: With Pierce.
Took a Level in Badass: In her first few appearances, she's generally a quiet and put-upon person. By "A Few Paintballs More", she's leading the charge against City College while wielding Guns Akimbo like some kind of action heroine.
Visual Pun: Her first appearance is all about Pierce tormenting her in every conceivable way because she wouldn't lend him a pencil. In said episode, she wears a yellow sweater and a black hat.

Quendra

Played By: Marcy Mc Cusker

A rather quirky student who insists on replacing the letter 'K' in various words with 'Q-U'.

Ditzy Genius/Genius Ditz: Her self-penned bio on the Greendale paints her as intelligent and articulate (save for the insistence on spelling things with 'Q-U').
My Nayme Is: Her name is pronounced 'Kendra'.
Psmith Psyndrome: "I spell kettle corn with a 'Q-U'!"

Annie Kim

Played By: Irene Choi

An intensely competitive and driven student who develops a rivalry with Annie over Annie's plans to form a Model U.N.

Academic Alpha Bitch: As smart as Annie but has a more aggressive approach to her education. She's also not above stealing Annie's ideas.
Asian and Nerdy: She's Asian, and her Model U.N. plan demonstrates a great deal of intelligence. The other Annie is desperate to prove she's smarter.
Cute But Psycho: She smashes Jeff's head into a climbing wall in the season 4 premiere.
Jeff: You?! You're pre-med!
Annie Kim: I want ice cream!
Development Gag: Before Alison Brie was cast as Annie, the character was written as Asian.
Nerd Glasses: Has glasses and is portrayed as a bright student. She's not unpopular or awkward, however.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To Annie, starting with her theft of the Model UN idea. She later steals her role in The Karate Kid stage adaptation.

Mike

Played By: Anthony Michael Hall

"Dude, my life is a gym!"

A boorish and obnoxious gym fanatic who gets into conflict with Jeff.

Actor Allusion: According to Pierce, Mike was a nerd, but now he's a meathead.
Ax-Crazy: He's so violent, belligerent and aggressive that he'll even staple his face to look tough.
Cannot Tell a Joke
Mike: Wanna hear a joke, funny man? Knock knock, my fist up your balls!
Jeff: … Who's there?
Celebrity Paradox: The Breakfast Club is frequently referenced in other episodes (not the one he appears in, though), yet he's played by one of its main stars.
Jerk Jock: Basically the villain from a 1980's teen comedy but an adult.
Sleeves Are for Wimps: He only wears sleeveless shirts to show off his modest arm muscles.
Would Not Hit a Girl
Mike: (To Annie) If you were a dude, I'd have my fist up your balls!

Todd

Todd Jacobson

Played By: David Neher

"None taken!"

An almost superhumanly nice biology classmate of the Study Group, whose apparently limitless patience is sorely tested when he is placed into their group for a class project.

Break the Cutie: He's very nice to the study group when he's forced to be part of their biology group, but his manner gets increasingly strained. When they try to set his turtle on fire, he finally loses it.
- He also suffers a nervous collapse in "Basic Lupine Urology" after Annie successfully badgers him into admitting that he killed the study group's yam and Neil confesses to boiling it, meaning that he'd just been harangued over something that wasn't even his fault.
Beware the Nice Ones: in Season 6, Todd's eternal pleasantness goes from Nice Guy to disturbing after he starts saying some weird stuff. He's also a pretty formidable paintball player.
Butt-Monkey: To absurd levels; he's possibly the nicest guy on the entire planet, and yet that just makes the study group hate him with greater intensity.
Hidden Depths: He is a family man and decorated war veteran.
Nice Guy: He's so darn tolerant of the group verbally kicking the crap out of him for over twelve hours.
Phrase Catcher: "No offense," to which Todd usually replies, "None taken."
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Britta tries to set his turtle on fire, he stops being so easygoing and calls out the study group for treating him so poorly.
Rage Breaking Point: What sent him over the edge was Britta almost setting his new pet turtle on fire.
Sanity Slippage: His appearances in Season 6 suggest that he's become somewhat unbalanced by his time at Greendale; he develops a Creepy Monotone and Slasher Smile and Starburns complains that he's "weird at picnics".
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: He is an extremely nice and patient guy, yet he rubs the whole study group the wrong way.
What the Hell, Hero?: When Britta tries to set his turtle on fire, he delivers a withering summation of the study group's cruelty that he caps off with "OFFENSE TAKEN!"

Pavel

Pavel Iwaszkiewicz

Played By: Dominik Musiol

A friend of Abed's and his freshman year roommate.

Character Catchphrase: "Hey, blos!"
Drop-In Character: He often stops by Abed's room to see what he's doing.

Subway

Rick / "Subway"

Played By: Travis Schuldt

"Please don't think of me as any less human than yourselves. I'm here to hang out, take weird classes and party as hardy as my morality clause allows."

A student who, after signing a legal "Corpohumanization" contract with Subway, acts as the company's anthropomorphic representation on campus after Subway sponsors Greendale in season three. He develops a potentially disastrous mutual infatuation with Britta.

Anthropomorphic Personification: Legally, he is this in regards to Subway.
The Bus Came Back: In "Advanced Safety Features".
Contractual Purity: Invoked—Subway has a morality clause in his contract that, whilst it doesn't prohibit him from falling in love and engaging in sexual relationships, does prevent him from engaging in sex acts of a certain level of depravity.
Given Name Reveal: The first Subway's name is Rick, first used by his boss when firing him in Season 3. He's addressed almost exclusively by his real name when he reappears in Season 6.
Hidden Depths: His dream job is apparently to open a shelter for disabled animals.
The Nth Doctor: The original Subway is fired for engaging in depraved sex acts with Britta and someone else is hired to assume his identity.
One Last Job: He tries to pull one during his reappearance in "Advanced Safety Features" so that he can leave his guerrilla marketing job on a high note. Unfortunately for him, it turns out to be a trap laid by Frankie.
Product Placement: Both as a Subway Corpohuman in Season 3 and for Honda in Season 6.
Put a Face on the Company: Literally thanks to the process of Corpohumanization.
Put on a Bus: He's hauled off by goons and replaced with a new Subway after whatever it was he and Britta did in the pillow fort.
Sucksessor: Britta just doesn't like Subway after the original has been fired and someone new has assumed his identity.

Rachel

Played By: Brie Larson

I started this coat check without permission anyway.

A girl Abed met and liked when she was checking coats at a dance in season 4. They start dating in season 5.

Aborted Arc: Played straight but then subverted and lampshaded. Despite setting up a possible relationship in Season 4, she's never heard from again...until Season 5, when Abed meets her again by random happenstance and they excuse the abandoned plot with the gas leak. Then she drops off the face of the Earth once again, without much explanation.
Bespectacled Cutie: Her cuteness is helped very much by her glasses.
Distaff Counterpart: To Abed.
What the Hell, Hero?: Gives one to Abed about his behavior after he forces her to play Piles of Bullets to earn the right to move in with him and Annie, despite Rachel herself not knowing about the deal and even wanting to move in anyway.
What Happened to the Mouse?: After reappearing in a single episode in Season 5, Rachel completely vanishes for the rest of the show. Abed even lampshades this in the Season 6 premiere, wondering aloud what happened to her when he's talking with Frankie.

Eric

Eric Wisniewski

Played By: Bill Parks

A recurring red-haired character.

All Men Are Perverts: What little characterization he has involves him checking out Slater, or throwing money on Annie and Britta mud-wrestling.
Recurring Extra: He doesn't really have much in the way of characterization. He just appears a lot. In keeping with this in his last appearance, Abed refers to him as "Red-hair guy", not knowing his name.

Koogler

Played By: Mitchell Hurwitz

"I know what you guys think of me, OK? 'Hey, it's Koogler! He's cool! He likes to get laid! He's not that old!'"

A middle-aged student at Greendale who lives in a state of arrested development, leading him to act like a fratboy and deny that he is "that old".

Fratbro: Desperatedly wants to be one, any way.
Manchild: He acts like the main character of an rowdy 80s College Comedy, despite being way out of that age-group.
Remember the New Guy?: His first appearance is in Season 5, but everyone on Greendale seems to know him already.

One-Shot

Buddy

Buddy Austen

Played By: Jack Black

"I know that you're scared that adding a new member might throw everything out of its natural— (opening credits) —rhythm."

A Spanish classmate who tries to join the Study Group in one episode.

Acrofatic: He tries to invoke this, but it results in him accidentally kicking Jeff in the face.
Adam Westing: Jack plays a parody of his funny everyman characters as an entitled jerk who tries to forcibly insert himself into the main cast.
Cringe Comedy: He's basically David Brent but American. Almost everything he says is try hard or socially inept and makes the other study group members and the audience hilariously uncomfortable.
Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue": In-universe, but the show is so meta, it's hard to tell how obnoxious he is in the show's universe.
Large Ham: As to be expected from someone played by Jack Black, he is very goofy and dramatic.
Remember the New Guy?: Subverted. Except for Abed, they don't.
Shoo Out the New Guy: Trope mocked mercilessly. He's allegedly been in the gang's Spanish 101 class this entire time. The entire main cast is either weirded out by his sudden, unexplained appearance in their lives or convinced he's a murderous psycho. "Investigative Journalism" ends with Owen Wilson suddenly appearing and offering Buddy a spot in the 'cool' clique.
Sixth Ranger: Attempts to be this … then promptly leaves for the 'cooler' group when given a chance.

Meghan

Played By: Hilary Duff

"See, the rest of us feel ashamed of ourselves so we act like bitches to make ourselves feel better."

A student at Greendale who was the leader of a Girl Posse that had the school on edge due to their nasty dispositions and overall bitchiness. Her reign of terror came to an end when she ran into Abed and was soundly defeated in a battle of trash talking.

Alpha Bitch: She's the stereotypical head bitch on campus, complete with her Girl Posse.
Even Evil Has Standards: Ultimately, after insulting Abed in order to shut him down, she quietly mouths "thank you" while the crowd is cheering, to which Abed returns a small nod. The look on her face indicated she was either grateful to Abed for giving her power back and/or that she felt bad about doling out such harsh comments.
I Did What I Had to Do: It's pretty clear by the look on her face after she's finished using Abed's 'destruct codes' against him that even she found it a bit too much and didn't really enjoy doing it, but someone had to stop Abed.
Only One Name: Her last name is never stated.

Lukka

Played By: Enver Gjokaj

"I miss cleansing the fields and forests from the unclean people who stole my country. I miss the smell of the villages burning...[laughs]... I miss the way they used to run from our tanks in fear!"

A student at Greendale from the Balkans.

Affably Evil: For someone who is hinted to have done some very nasty things in the Balkans, he is a rather charming fellow.
Black Comedy: The war crimes he committed are Played for Laughs.
Funny Foreigner: Until you hear him relishing the memories of his war crimes anyway.
Kill It with Fire: He mentioned to Britta how he and his comrades burned people alive.
Mr. Fanservice: He's an inch short on being Tall, Dark, and Handsome, but he is handsome nonetheless.
Politically Incorrect Villain: He casually mentions burning people of opposing beliefs alive.
Sociopathic Soldier: He was a soldier in the Balkans and relishes the memory of burning people from the opposing side alive, including women and children.
Would Hit a Girl: He tells Britta how he and his comrades burned women to death.
Would Hurt a Child: He tells Britta how he and his comrades burned children to death.

Gary

"He grew up in a land without sun!"

An unseen friend of Shirley's whom the rest of the Study Group loathe intensely.

Funny Foreigner: Finnish and The Chew Toy of the study group (except Shirley).
The Ghost: Transfer student from Finland. Shirley's friend, whom no one else likes.
Troy: I hope he transfers to hell!
Hated by All: For some reason, everyone but Shirley seems to utterly despise him.

Staff

Faculty (Recurring)

Slater

Michelle Slater

Played By: Lauren Stamile

"The secrecy does make the sex 38% more exciting."

Greendale's statistics professor. She develops a tumultuous relationship with Jeff in season one.

Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's poised and quite rigid.
Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Britta's Betty for Jeff's Archie.
Brainy Brunette: She has dark hair and she's indicated to me a talented professor.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After playing an important role in Season 1 and helping drive the plot of the season finale, Slater is mentioned once in passing in the Season 2 premiere and never again. In "Introduction to Political Science", the news ticker on Abed and Troy's election coverage has the headline "Professor Slater still missing." May be an example of Shoo Out the New Guy. According to some writers, they had ideas for her in Season 2, but Dan Harmon never seemed to care much about continuing the character.
Hot Teacher: Jeff's relationship with her puts emphasis on her physical beauty.
Hypocrite: She takes issues with Jeff's fear of commitment despite his Character Development yet breaks up with him out of the blue and not soon after is seen flirting with another man. In the season 1 finale, she attempts to rekindle her romance with Jeff, justifying the break up by saying that she was scared of getting too close to him. The fact that Jeff was the one who had to constantly prove himself to her and the double standard she applied to their relationship gives heavy vibes of an All Take and No Give mentality.
Teacher/Student Romance: Her relationship with Jeff and subsequent Love Triangle with Britta dominates the second half of the first season.
Took a Level in Jerkass: She breaks up with Jeff out of nowhere, and later his comments suggest she was quite selfish and domineering.

Bauer

June Bauer

Played By: Betty White

"I'm going to use this to attack you and you use respect to defend yourself."

Greendale's original professor of anthropology, with some very unorthodox teaching methods.

Karma Houdini: She gets put on administrative leave with pay for shooting a spear at a student and subsequently strangling him.
Never Mess with Granny: Fires a blowdart into Starburns' face and beats Jeff up with her own Ikea Weaponry. She's badass.
Obfuscating Insanity: Near-fatally assaulted Jeff in class, which was apparently her way of getting leave to go to Africa.
Special Guest for the Season 2 premiere.

Whitman

Eustice Whitman

Played By: John Michael Higgins

"Only when we stop stopping our lives can we begin to start starting them."

Professor of Accounting and coach of the Debate Team. His entirely teaching philosophy and approach can be summed up with "Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society".

Beware the Nice Ones: While usually nice and carefree, Professor Whitman can tell when you're just taking his class for an easy A and will call you out on it, which he does to Jeff.
Blithe Spirit: Thinks he's Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society.
Hidden Depths: He might seem like some dopey eccentric who's seen Dead Poets Society once too often, but as Jeff discovers he's actually quite sharp and savvy, and is immediately able pick Jeff out as being both a slacker and an uptight loner.
Psychologist Teacher: Reconstructed. Jeff assumes his class's focus on personal development will make it an easy A class, but Whitman realizes this and threatens to fail Jeff. Jeff eventually kisses Britta, thereby gaining the personal development that Whitman wanted out of him.
Serious Business: His "seize the day" philosophy is no joke.
Shipper on Deck: Seeing Jeff give Britta a kiss is what inspires Whitman to give him a passing grade, as it tells him that Jeff has finally seized the day through a "life-changing kiss". Later, in the Season 1 finale, Whitman is the one most vocally on Team Britta, telling Jeff to pick her instead of Slater.

Garrity

Sean Garrity

Played By: Kevin Corrigan

"Word of advice; if you ever rear-end the Dean's car, don't tell him you're gonna pay him back in acting."

Greendale's intense and pretentious professor of drama.

Cloud Cuckoo Lander: His general attitude.
Drama Club: He's the professor of drama at Greendale.
Large Ham: Clearly favors this style of acting from his students, in particular Abed's report on Nicolas Cage. He also leans toward it in his own work, as seen when he's portraying Professor Professorson/Woolley in "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design".
Seen It All: He's completely unfazed by Abed's Nicolas Cage freakout, suggesting that he's seen it happen before.
Garrity: [after Abed comes to and flees the room] That was brilliant.
True Art Is Angsty: He seems to be a believer in the trope, since he has his students tap into past traumas to inform their performances in his acting classes.

Kane

Marshall Kane

Played By: Michael K. Williams

"You spent your life in the army. I spent mine in prison. Two places where a man's worth is only as good as his uniform. Now, out here it's supposed to be different. And in my class it will be."

The professor of biology. An ex-convict who gained his degree while in prison, Kane is quite possibly the sanest person on campus.

Actor Allusion: "A man's gotta have a code."
Brutal Honesty: To Magnitude: "You know they're laughing at you, right?"
The Comically Serious: Very serious in all his delivery, and sometimes all the more funny for it.
The Determinator: He managed to get up to a Ph.D. in biology by studying for an hour a day for 25 years.
Genius Bruiser: Hinted at; he got his biology Ph.D. while serving a 25-year sentence for murder with only one hour's access to the prison library a day.
Honor Before Reason: Goes along with the eccentricity of holding a trial for the Study Group's dead yam because he believes that people deserve an unbiased chance to prove their innocence.
Locked Out of the Loop: "What the hell is going on at this school? I have so many conversations that don't make any sense."
Not So Above It All: He's mostly bemused by the insanity he's surrounded by in Greendale, but he has his own quirks and can get sucked into the madness along with everyone else.
Only Sane Man: A down-to-earth ex-convict, he normally fills this role. He gets very befuddled at how a yam assignment becomes a murder mystery, especially when Neil reveals he was sabotaging everyone else's project to save Vicki's grade.
Psychologist Teacher: Played with; Kane doesn't show much active interest in or desire to mentor Jeff, but in "Biology 101" and "Basic Lupine Urology" several of his chance remarks are things that Jeff later comes to take to heart. He's probably been more successful in helping Jeff get over himself than any of the teachers we've seen thus far, albeit inadvertently.
Put on a Bus: Resigns as a result of Starburns' 'death'.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He remains this consistently. He kicked out Jeff for his phone ringing too many times in class, but let him back in when Jeff gave him his phone as an apology for rudeness. Later, he shames the study group for fighting with each other and insulting Todd, and refuses to let them hurt the other students. When they actually put in the grade, he promises he's not going to fail them for their yam breaking.
Scary Black Man: Subverted. He's an intimidating black ex-convict, but he's ultimately a pretty decent, reasonable teacher.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: He's never taken a bribe in his life.
Seinfeldian Conversation: It's more of a monologue, but at one point he muses aloud about how much Lego sets have changed since he was locked up and asks the class if they know what the deal is with this.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His resignation in response to Star-Burns' "death" results in the Greendale Seven inciting a riot against the school out of despair about the school and having to take summer classes to be able to finish biology. It also results in Chang gaining complete control over the school and becoming its dictator.

Laybourne

Vice Dean Robert Laybourne

Played By: John Goodman

"Our ancestors were slaves. It became our business to make the Pharaohs comfortable. In time we learned to make ourselves comfortable. Now we are the Pharaohs."

Vice Dean of Greendale's AC Repair Annex and, unbeknownst to Dean Pelton, the one holding true power at Greendale.

Actor Allusion: John Goodman once again plays an alleged second-in-command at a college who pushes around the main authority figure.
Ancient Conspiracy: Laybourne is the equivalent of a 33rd-degree Mason in the ancient conspiracy of air conditioners.
Anti-Villain: Out of all the villains of season 3, he's the most sympathetic.
Big Bad Ensemble: His attempts to get Troy into the AC Repair Annex make him a secondary antagonist in Season Three, behind Chang.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: He's very suddenly murdered by one of his underlings at the end of Season Three.
Evil Is Hammy: He gets very loud and very dramatic at times, particularly when telling Dean Pelton who's boss.
Heel–Face Turn: He spends much of Season 3 as a threatening, powerful and malevolent force threatening, bullying and manipulating to try and get Troy into the AC Repair Annex. Once Troy is in, however, he mellows considerably and shows genuine interest in helping Troy achieve what he views as his destiny.
Hollywood Mid-Life Crisis: He spends the latter part of Season 3 "going through some stuff"—since said 'stuff' involves growing a goatee and a ponytail and starting a band, it's not hard to make the leap to this trope.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: According to the DVD commentary, John Goodman had grown the goatee and ponytail for his role in Flight, which he was also filming at the time, necessitating writing it into the script.
Hidden Depths: He plays the trumpet.
Laybourne: See you at band practice.
Large and in Charge: He's played by tall and heavyset John Goodman and he runs Greendale with an iron fist.
Large Ham: Passionate about air conditioning and aware of the control his Annex has over Greendale.
The Man Behind the Man: Reveals to Pelton that the AC Repair School is responsible for 80% of Greendale's revenue.
Manipulative Bastard: Among other things, he engineers the war between Blanketsburg and Pillowtown in a bid to drive Troy and Abed apart so Troy will join them.
Mundane Made Awesome: "This is the room! This is the room temperature room."
Serious Business: Air conditioner repair is a very big deal to him.
Spirit Advisor: He doesn't speak, but a "Force Ghost" version of him can be seen smiling at Troy during the Sun Chamber duel.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants to rip Troy away from his friends, as the secrets of the AC Repair Annex cannot be shared with outsiders. On the other hand, they do very good work and guarantee a life of lucrative employment.

Cornwallis

Professor Noel Cornwallis

Played By: Malcolm McDowell

"History is written by the victors. Of course, we all know the quote, but what does it mean? Well, according to Oxford University, it means my twenty years of loyal service there means nothing next to a little slip-up with a coed."

The school's extremely apathetic and jaded professor of history. Cornwallis was once employed at Oxford University until he was forced to leave in disgrace and makes no secret of his contempt for Greendale.

Apathetic Teacher: As of "Basic Human Anatomy":
Jeff: [reading]: "Pick any moment from history and tell me about it. Be as creative as you like, or not, I don't care. Professor Cornwa ..." He didn't even finish signing his own name.
Dirty Old Man: He got kicked out of Oxford for what he calls a "little slip-up with a co-ed". It's also implied in "Intro to Felt Surrogacy" that he has a thing for young women's feet, at least by Annie's account:
I was struggling in History, I'm normally the best.
I let Cornwallis rub my feet to give me all the answers to the test.
Manipulative Bastard: In "Intro to Knots".
My God, What Have I Done?: Heavily regrets signing onto Greendale after "Alternative History of the German Invasion".
Only Sane Man: Downplayed; while he eventually gets into Greendale antics out of loneliness, his debut as him as reasonably telling off the group for blowing off their first history exam. He's appalled on learning some teachers will manipulate their students on purpose to teach them a lesson; when he tries it, he admits that he was messing with them to have companionship during Christmas.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Debut episode only. He warned everyone they would get a hard test on the material, about how history is Written by the Winners, and came to give the study group a What the Hell, Hero? for blowing it off.

Faculty (One-Shot)

Holly

Marion Holly

Played By: Tony Hale

"If you so much as hum three notes from that Righteous Brothers song, I will come at you with everything I've got. Okay?"

Greendale's pottery professor.

Berserk Button: Making any reference to Ghost (1990) during his class, especially the scene of Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore making pottery together, will trigger him immensely.
Large Ham: He speaks very... theatrically.
Never Heard That One Before: As a pottery teacher, he's seen every imaginable riff on the pottery scene from Ghost (1990). He just can't take it anymore, even if the scene is recreated unintentionally.

Sheffield

Peter Sheffield

Played By: Stephen Tobolowsky

A professor who specializes in critical analysis of television shows, namely Who's the Boss?.

Accidental Misnaming: He pronounces Abed's name like "uh-BED", with the accent on the second syllable, and seems to think that it's his last name.
Actor Allusion: When Abed is talking excitedly about Sheffield's class, he holds up the headshot on the back of his book... which means he's holding up a headshot of prolific "Hey, I know that guy!" character actor Stephen Tobolowsky, which is exactly the kind of thing actors/writers/TV nerds get excited about while everyone else has no idea what they're talking about.
- Also, this isn't the first time Tobolowsky has played a smug, supercilious teacher who gets emotionally destroyed by one of his students.
Break the Haughty: Abed emotionally destroys Professor Sheffield without even meaning to when he proves once and for all that Angela was the boss in Who's the Boss?.
Crippling Overspecialization: He's apparently devoted his entire teaching career to pondering the question of who was the boss on Who's The Boss?. When Abed answers the question in the space of a single class, he's at a complete loss as to what to do with himself.
Driven to Suicide: Subverted. After Abed effectively demolishes the premise upon which he built his teaching career and he orders everyone out of the classroom, he opens one of his desk drawers to reveal a pistol ... and then he opens it a little further and pulls out a copy of his other book, What Was Happening?: An Analysis of What's Happening!!.^note
Loony Fan: Of Who's the Boss?. He has photos of himself with the cast and crew of the show hanging on the wall of his classroom, he's written an entire book on its titular question, and he breaks down when Abed answers said question after only a few days of study.
Rhetorical Question Blunder: He apparently thinks that "who's the boss?" is a rhetorical question in the context of the show. Unfortunately for him, Abed proves otherwise.
Serious Business: He's written a book and teaches an entire college course on a single sitcom, which seems to be mostly based on a metaphysical view on what a boss is. Abed deflates the entire thing in just one class.
Wrote the Book: He wrote the book on Who's the Boss?. He tries to foist his opinion on Abed, but it turns out Abed knows more than he does.

Radison

Cory "Mr. Rad" Radison

Played By: Taran Killam

"Glee club is what we are. It's all we are."

Greendale's professor of music and Glee Club director. His incredibly cheery surface conceals a much darker nature.

Accidental Public Confession: He gets so riled up with Britta when she becomes the Spanner in the Works to the final show that he lets slip something that he probably shouldn't. Specifically, that he caused the bus crash that killed the previous Glee Club.
Dean: Mr. Radison, I think it's fine. Greendale is an all-inclusive school, so why don't we let Britta sing her awkward song?
[The audience responds good-naturedly]
Mr. Rad: NonononoNONONO! This show is supposed to be gleeful! And bright! And fun! And you can let me do that, OR THERE CAN BE ANOTHER BUS CRASH!
[Everyone gasps in horror]
Mr. Rad: [realising] Well... figuratively. [laughs nervously; increasingly strained] I'm not saying " I killed the last Glee Club!" I'm saying, you not listening to me, is like metaphorically cutting the brakelines... on your own— [points] Look, Kings of Leon! [Runs offstage]''
Ax-Crazy: He's clearly not a very stable man. And that's before we learn he murdered the last Glee Club.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite smiling all the time and appearing to be rather friendly, he has a dark, manipulative side. And he turns out to be a psychopath who killed the last Glee Club.
Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive: Does this after Abed offers to help out with the recruiting.
Clothes Make the Maniac: His sweater vest, or at least according to Jeff.
Consummate Liar: It becomes more and more clear throughout the episode that his entire demeanor is a lie, and that most of the things he says are less than truthful.
Corrupted Character Copy: Mr. Rad is a deconstruction of the character Will Schuester. In Glee, Mr. Schuester forcibly recruited and in one case blackmailed a Glee Club member into joining but is never called out for it. He's genuinely passionate about it but sometimes lets the group's drama and Serious Business go too far in a bid to keep competing and stay as an official club, which makes Sue's vendetta against him more reasonable when her softer side was revealed. In the world of Community, someone like Mr. Schuester is seen as too ambitious over a hobby club where there are mostly adults trying to get a degree to get a job. With no Sue as his Sitcom Archnemesis, Mr. Rad is revealed to be ambitious to the point of wanting to commit murder and presumably kept this year's Glee Club on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He's apt at making cheesy pun after cheesy pun. And he murdered the last Glee Club.
Faux Affably Evil: While he initially seems quite pleasant and cheery on the surface, he quickly reveals himself to be a controlling, manipulative, obsessive murderer.
Felony Misdemeanor
Mr. Rad: (to Britta) You are the worst!
Jeff: HEY!
Troy: You do not get to call Britta the worst!
Foreshadowing: On a meta level, it transpires that he's not the only psychopath hired by Dean Pelton. Ben Chang's insanity in the last few episodes of season three certainly invokes this, especially as Chang escapes the same way Rad did.
Glurge Addict: he's a relentlessly upbeat man who likes to stage overly cutesy and saccharine glee shows.
Kubrick Stare: He gives Abed a pretty good one as he's departing to go "convert" the rest of the study group.
Light Is Not Good: Mr. Rad tries to force the study group to conform to his rather shallow idea of Christmas joy, but as Jeff said, "Attempts to make the holidays brighter always tend to make them darker." This is ultimately supported when Mr. Rad turns out to be a psycho who murdered the previous Glee Club.
Look Behind You: "Look! Kings of Leon!" Followed by an Villain: Exit, Stage Left. Why yes, Dan Harmon is a troper.
Make It Look Like an Accident: He cut the brakes of the bus carrying his previous Glee Club.
Manipulative Bastard: He was able to make the entire study group forget their hate for the Glee Club and participate in his Christmas show. This was done by "turning" Abed first, as he knew Abed would be convince Troy. He then repeatedly helped the "turned" ones convince the rest of the group.
Mind Rape: His efforts to persuade the members of the study group to join the Glee Club take on this edge, particularly with Annie.
The Music Meister: A darker example than most. Even before we learn he's a murderer.
Remember the New Guy?
Serious Business: Glee Club is a matter of life and death to him. Quite literally; he killed the last club.
The Sociopath: Despite his very nice demeanor and optimistic attitude, it is repeatedly hinted at throughout the episode that he may be a lot less nice than he lets on. The concepts of truth and lie don't seem to bother him very much, and his actions work solely to play the group like a fiddle. Later on it becomes clear that he will not suffer things to go against his precise will. After Britta enters the stage and Brittas the show, he reveals that either the people let him do things his way or "there can be another bus crash". The only genuine emotion he seems to show throughout the episode (other than smugness) is that hint of fear when he realizes he revealed his mass murder. He then tries to back down, and when this fails, runs away. Makes you wonder if he would have eventually done the same to the study group had they stayed with him.
Stepford Smiler: His bright and sunny good cheer is just a bit too bright and sunny. Becomes a Psychotic Smirk when he watches Abed go to persuade his friends to join the Glee Club.
Villainous Breakdown: After Britta 'ruins' his pageant, he goes on an all out Motive Rant, accidentally letting slip that he murdered the previous glee club.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He just leaves and this is the last time we see him.
- There was an entire room full of people to hear his murder confession. It seems unlikely nobody would call the police.

Cligoris

Professor Cligoris

Played By: Martin Starr

"Ready, set, peace!"

Professor of Political Science and Model United Nations aficionado.

Geek: He's worn a pendant with a picture of the originator of Model UNs on his neck since high school, and claimed to be known as "Model UN Guy" in college.
Throwing Off the Disability: He's initially introduced sitting in a wheelchair. This turns out to have been just because he was talking about FDR at the time, however.
Unfortunate Names: His name is one letter off from a certain part of the female anatomy.
You Say Tomato: Jeff asks him whether his name is pronounced "Cli-ger-ISS" or "Cli-GORE-iss". He just says that either is fine.

DeSalvo

Roger DeSalvo

Played By: Matt Berry

A professor of Grifting (and actual grifter) who spends a short amount of time at Greendale. Secretly hates the school and only applied to work there as a way to grift the student body for money. He becomes one of the Activity Committee's final foes in the series.

Blood from the Mouth: After pretending to fall down the stairs, he pops a capsule of fake blood into his mouth and spits it out to really sell the grift.
Celebrity Paradox: Abed compares his new show to The IT Crowd in the finale, which had Matt Berry in the main cast as Douglas Reynholm.
Con Man: He considers himself a Consummate Professional con artist, and he doesn't even try to hide it, using it as a double bluff to get away with his scheme.
Evil Laugh: See below.
I Have Many Names: "Roger DeSalvo" is likely one of his many aliases.
Large Ham: He is played by Matt Berry, after all.
Obviously Evil: He openly vocalizes his glee at fleecing the Greendale student body out of money, complete with an Evil Laugh.
Out-Gambitted: The Save Greendale Committee successfully outplays him in the end, forcing him to admit that they beat him at his own game.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Has a strong dislike of women. In fact, when Britta punches him, he exclaims, "You hit me! With a woman's hand! You Midwestern floozy!"

Joshua

Played By: Matt Walsh

"No double-bounces."

The Greendale campus groundskeeper, who is maintaining a secret trampoline.

Affably Evil/Beware the Nice Ones: Though soft-spoken and fairly polite, he is a racist who believes that non-whites ruin everything. He even seems to like Troy as an individual, while putting down his race to his face.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Turns out that despite his nice demeanor, he is a neo-Nazi. Upon finding out, Troy and Jeff realizes that they should probably have picked up on the hints a bit earlier, like how he made several thinly-veiled references to harboring white-supremacist views and the fact he had a swastika tattooed on his chest.
Blatant Lies: About his swastika tattoo:
Joshua: It's going to be a maze.
Deconstruction: Of the kindly mentor with a magical secret to share archetype. Here that 'magical secret' is purity through isolation as a metaphor for the 'mentor's' white supremacist views.
Evil Redhead: A red-haired white supremacist.
Jerkass Has a Point: He's a hateful white supremacist, but he was right about his "no double bouncing" rule. Pierce forcing Troy to double-bounce him caused him to be crippled for several episodes.
Obviously Evil: Played for Laughs; after he's revealed as a neo-Nazi, a couple of more subtle clips hinting toward this are shown in a different light ("A place free from darkness"/"Some are natural born jumpers") followed by a flashback the audience hadn't seen before of him with a swastika tattoo and claiming it will be a maze.
Politically Incorrect Villain: As mentioned, literal white supremacist.
Positive Discrimination: Some of his racism falls into this; he (a trampoline enthusiast) begrudgingly admits that he thinks Black people are "naturally skilled jumpers".
Pure Is Not Good: He wants to ensure a place of tranquility is not disturbed, but it turns out to be for racist reasons.
Those Wacky Nazis: Yup, he's a neo-Nazi. Troy and Jeff don't notice the early warning signs, like his references to "purity" and his swastika tattoo.

Custodial

Jerry

Played By: Jerry Minor

"YOU COULD BE A PLUMBER!"

The Greendale campus janitor who takes an interest in Troy after seeing his skills as a repairman.

Butt-Monkey: Nothing seems to go his way.
The Danza: Jerry is played by Jerry.
Insistent Terminology: When Annie implies that a janitor and custodian are the same thing, Jerry's expression hardens and he says, "We was just starting to like you."
Mr Fix It: Part of his job is repairing stuff.

Lapari

Played By: Kumail Nanjiani

A disgruntled deputy custodian who drives the events of "Modern Espionage," the series's final paintball episode.

Chekhov's Gunman: First appears in "Analysis of Cork-Based Networking" before becoming an antagonist in "Modern Espionage".
Going Postal: A non-lethal variety. He and the custodial staff ostensibly arrange the underground paintball game to get back at the students for the mess they make every year with their usual paintball antics. He further reveals that his part in arranging the game was to get back at Frankie for her efforts to clean up the school, which effectively changes the spirit of Greendale. He also flirts with the idea of getting a job at City College, "...where the payphones are not only herpe-free, they're actually removed."
Hidden Depths: Has a daughter who plays soccer.
Motive Rant: He delivers one at the end of "Modern Espionage", explaining how (in his view) Frankie's efforts to clean up Greendale are in fact ruining what makes the school special.
Villain of the Week: Of "Modern Espionage". He even has an evil lair, the Museum of Custodial Arts.

Waite

Bob Waite

Played By: Nathan Fillion

The head custodian at Greendale.

Almighty Janitor: Despite being head custodian at a second-rate community college, he apparently has enough influence that generals and politicians turn up to schmooze at his reception.
Celebrity Paradox: He's played by Nathan Fillion, whom Chang at one point reveals is his Celebrity Crush.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: Prevents Annie from getting the aid she needs for her bulletin board project until she convinces IT to remove the porn-blocker from Greendale's internet.

School Board

Carl and Richie

Carl Bladt and Richie Countee

Left: Carl Right: Ritchie

Played By: Jeremy Scott Johnson and Brady Novak

"This is Richie and Carl from the school board! That's right, we have names!"

The representatives of the School Board who frequently meet with the Dean. They hold nothing but contempt and disinterest in the school, but are not incredibly competent or well-adjusted themselves.

The Alcoholic: Both of them seem to enjoy their booze a bit more than is healthy, but Richie in particular uses this as an excuse for why he was a bit slow to realize Chang was insane.
Big Bad Duumvirate: Of Season Five, as they try to sell Greendale to Subway.
Big Guy, Little Guy: Richie's the big one, Carl's the little one.
Biting-the-Hand Humor: They're essentially a fairly unfavorable analogue to NBC: a pair of thickset morons who try to control a process they clearly have no understanding of or interest in besides profit.
Even Evil Has Standards: Implied in "Repilot". Despite rehiring Chang as a math teacher, they got Pierce banned from Greendale after what had to have been one hell of a Noodle Incident.
Fat Idiot: Neither of them are exactly mental giants, but Richie, the more heavyset of the two, is generally a bit dimmer than Carl.
Horrible Judge of Character: It takes them rather longer than it should to realize that Chang is an insane tyrannical 'would-be warlord' who is running the school into the ground.
Jerkass: They're kind of dicks.
Kick the Dog: Richie "kills" Russell Borchert's computer-wife Raquel with a magnet even though he has no reason to do it beyond being a jerk.
One-Hour Work Week: Very rarely on campus. They only show their faces for disasters and get rich quick schemes. Most of their time is spent away from site day drinking.
Stupid Evil: Not a brain cell between them.
Telepathy: Richie has it. No, really.
Those Two Guys: They are always seen together.

Miscellaneous

Greendale Human Being

Played By: William Love

Greendale's freaky-as-all-hell mascot.

The Blank: A Sharpie scribble for a face, but that's it.
Not Helping Your Case: Played With. In the webisode, Office Hours: Pamphlet Serious, the Human Being is the target of a sexual harrasment complaint, because it was found hanging around the women's changing room and staring at one of the cheerleaders. Upset at this, the Dean fires the mascot actor and tells them to relinquish the costume. One Dramatic Unmask later, and it turns out that the actor is actually a woman, so there was a good explaination for why she was in the women's locker room. As for why she was staring at the cheerleader? She admits thought she was pretty. The Dean and the cheerleader, both relieved, are about to agree that perhaps the situation wasn't bad at all, only for the Human Being to then completely unprompted blurt out that she also likes to smell the cheerleader's underwear, and the Dean note that actually the situation was worse than he thought it was at first.
Political Overcorrectness: The reason it exists: the Dean wanted a mascot that could not possibly offend anyone; their previous name was the Greendale Grizzlies, which he decided to change on the grounds that many Greendale students had been called animals their whole lives. Pierce helped Dean Pelton on the project, and look how it turned out.
Samus Is a Girl: Revealed in online video Office Hours: Pamphlet Serious, via a Dramatic Unmask.
Slasher Smile: The smile drawn on the mask in black marker resembles this more than anything. Probably unintentional in-universe and very intentional on the showrunners' behalf.
White Mask of Doom: The mascot's white cloth face is considered by the students to be pretty intimidating.

Characters / Community: Greendale Staff and Students

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