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USC announced tonight that Gen. David Petraeus will be a Judge Widney Professor, "a title reserved for eminent individuals from the arts, sciences, professions, business and community and national leadership." The title is named for USC's founder, the late Judge Robert Maclay Widney.
“USC is thrilled to have General Petraeus join our faculty as a Judge Widney Professor,” president C. L. Max Nikias says in the flackage. “He embodies all the noble qualities of our founder along with a fearless commitment to excellence. His presence will have a profound impact on our students across many disciplines.”
You may remember that back in March, Petraeus picked a USC event as the venue for the speech that re-introduced him to public life after the embarrassment of his affair with his biographer being divulged. The disclosure of the affair with Paula Broadwell led to his exit last November as head of the Central Intelligence Agency after just over a year.
More from USC's release:
Petraeus will spend time at USC each academic semester starting this fall teaching classes, participating in seminars and panels, participating in working sessions with students and faculty, and mentoring student veterans and ROTC members.
His varied research interests include the leadership of the United States in revolutionizing energy, information technology, life sciences and manufacturing. He is interested in exploring whether such leadership heralds the start of what he calls the “North American Decades.”He holds a PhD in international relations from Princeton University and has taught economics and international relations at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
“The appointment of General Petraeus as a Judge Widney Professor at USC will add transformative energy to our teaching and research in international relations, government, economics, management, defense studies and military science — fields mastered by this clear-thinking jargon-free polymath,” said University Professor and noted California historian Kevin Starr.
“I am very grateful to have an opportunity to be part of a great university that prizes academic excellence, that is doing cutting-edge research in areas of enormous importance to our country, and that is known for steadfast support of its veterans and ROTC programs,” Petraeus said.
In addition to its impact on the university as a whole, Petraeus’ appointment is expected to strengthen that steadfast support.
“For the past 37 years, General Petraeus has served our country as a dedicated public servant and remarkable leader,” said Jack H. Knott, dean of the USC Price School of Public Policy. “Given our school’s focus on government and public policy, as well as the academic administrative home for the ROTC program at USC, it is a particular honor for us to have General Petraeus join the USC faculty.”
Petraeus’ appointment includes affiliations with the USC School of Social Work, including the program in military social work; USC Price; the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, including the program in public diplomacy; the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, including the Department of International Relations; the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, including the Information Sciences Institute; the USC Institute for Creative Technologies; and the USC Libraries, including the Sidney Harman Academy of Polymathic Study.
USC previously added a center headed by former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
