President's Office

It’s hard to imagine how we could have crammed more into our first six months at The Citadel. In addition to the inauguration, the capital campaign kickoff and a graduation in which General Peter Pace’s speech drew national attention, Donna and I have worked hard to get to know the people on campus. We have also traveled extensively, meeting hundreds of you as we visited most regions of the country.

Everywhere I go, people ask what will change; I often return the question, asking what changes they would make. However, rather than emphasizing change, I prefer to think about what we will build. The Citadel has a worthy mission and a solid foundation of core values. My role should be to lead improvements in the way we develop principled leaders.

So where will I focus my attention? You will be hearing much about values and respect – an initiative that will be a cornerstone of my administration. Now under development, this initiative will address issues of diversity and respect – issues that I believe are behind many of the destructive behaviors we see here and throughout society. We must create a culture that truly embraces respect for oneself and others as a tenet of leadership.

You will also be hearing much about a four-year plan to flesh out leadership training, building on the Krause Initiative in Leadership and Ethics. Graduates should be prepared to be principled leaders. We must not shortchange cadets by allowing them to slide through without facing the opportunities and responsibilities required of leaders.

As we move forward, you will play a key role in these initiatives. I want more alumni to return to campus to share your talents and experiences with cadets and CGPS students. With your support we can make the good Citadel of today the great Citadel of the 21st century.