Alumni Day: James Madison Medalist

U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as commander of the U.S. Central Command, was presented with the James Madison Medal, the University's top honor for graduate alumni.

Petraeus, who earned his master's in public affairs and a Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1985 and 1987, respectively, is renowned both as a military leader and public intellectual. He emphasized the qualities needed for successful strategic leadership -- developing big ideas, effectively communicating and implementing those ideas, and learning from best and worst practices. While he applied those examples to his experience with the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, Petraeus underscored that such qualities were keys to success in any endeavor.