CGSC Foundation presents Gen. Powell with Distinguished Leadership Award

Lt. Gen. Robert Arter (U.S. Army, Ret.), chairman of the Command and General Staff College Foundation, presents Colin L. Powell with the CGSC Foundation Distinguished Leadership Award at a dinner banquet in Kansas City, April 28. (photo by Bill Kennedy)

The Command and General Staff College Foundation presented Gen. Colin L. Powell (U.S. Army, Ret.) with the Foundation’s first Distinguished Leadership Award at a dinner banquet at the Marriott Muehlebach Hotel April 28.Powell, the well-known 65th U.S. Secretary of State and the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is in Kansas City as part of a two-day trip to deliver the inaugural lecture for the Colin L. Powell Lecture Series at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC).“General Powell is an exceptional leader and very deserving of this recognition,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Arter (U.S. Army, Ret.), chairman of the board of trustees of the Command and General Staff College Foundation (CGSCF). “We are also honored to be able to sponsor the new lecture series in his name and believe it will be a great addition to the education of our officers at the College.”

Arter and the Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Col. Bob Ulin (U.S. Army, Ret.), worked with College leadership in Summer 2007 to design the academic chair and lecture series and made the initial request to Powell to have it named in his honor and in August 2007, the Foundation made the initial announcement that the chair and lecture series would go forward as the Colin L. Powell Academic Chair and Lecture Series. After much planning and coordination, General Powell delivered the inaugural lecture April 29 at the Lewis and Clark Center to approximately 2,000 Command and General Staff College students, staff and faculty.

Colin L. Powell, former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addresses more than 400 attendees at a dinner banquet hosted by the Command and General Staff College Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., April 28. (photo by Bill Kennedy)

“I am honored to receive this distinguished award,” said Powell. “I am even more honored and pleased to have a Chair and Lecture series named after me at the Command and General Staff College. The education I received 40 years ago at Fort Leavenworth was instrumental in allowing me to assume more important roles in our national security structure. I am confident the college will continue to do just that for future generations. I sincerely thank the CGSC Foundation for this recognition.”

Powell has a distinguished legacy in the U.S. Army and at Fort Leavenworth. His is a 1968 graduate of CGSC, served at Fort Leavenworth as a Brigadier General, and was the driving force behind the development of the Buffalo Soldier Monument that honors the service of the 9th and 10th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers.” According to Arter, it is fitting that the Foundation works with the College to establish programs in his name to support the College mission.

The intent of the Powell Lecture Series is to invite national and international distinguished personalities to provide lectures on contemporary issues to the faculty, student body, community and business leaders. Lecturers will range from heads of state, heads of government, senior diplomats, and other distinguished persons who could bring their unique perspectives to help educate the audience about historical or contemporary issues of importance to the nation or the international community. In February, TriWest Healthcare Alliance joined with the CGSC Foundation as the primary corporate sponsor of the Lecture Series. The academic chair will begin at a later date with other sponsorship not yet announced.

The CGSC Foundation was established December 28, 2005 as a tax-exempt, non-profit private corporation. Programs supported by the Foundation include awards for CGSC students and faculty, support for symposia, conferences, lectures, and community outreach activities that help connect the American people to their Army. For more information about the Foundation and how to become involved, visit www.cgscfoundation.org.