IS FURMAN<\/b> AN INCUBATOR<\/b> for top military brass?<\/p>\n
Bill Mayville \u201976, a product of Furman\u2019s military science program, noticed a few years ago that a number of Furman graduates were being promoted to the military\u2019s top ranks. His research found that seven Furman graduates currently serve as general officers in the Army, with five on active duty. Several more graduates are generals in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. Since 1950 Furman has produced 11 Army general officers, two Navy admirals and a Marine Corps general officer.<\/p>\n
Furman will honor its high-ranking military graduates November 9 during Homecoming. It will be a rare treat for the members of the university\u2019s Corps of Cadets to interact with the alumni officers who are able to attend. The campus will also hold a special ceremony on Veterans Day, November 11.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s more to this military story. To support the career development of Furman\u2019s ROTC cadets, Mayville, a Florida businessman and strong Furman supporter, worked this spring with retired Army colonel Mike Pasquarett, who taught in the military science department during Mayville\u2019s student days, to develop a program in Washington, D.C., for the university\u2019s graduating cadets.<\/p>\n
With Pasquarett\u2019s help, the cadets were able to visit such sites as the Pentagon, Brookings Institute and Capitol Hill, meet officers with Furman ties, and learn about how national security policy and strategy are developed and applied at the highest levels. The idea for the trip, called \u201cHow Washington Works,\u201d came from a course Pasquarett taught at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., for senior military and civilian leaders.<\/p>\n
Pasquarett said he wanted the Furman cadets to have a head start as they began their military careers. \u201cIt is important for them to know the process, to know the players,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He came to campus in March to teach the first part of the course, drawing from his three decades in the military and 12 additional years on the faculty at the Army War College. The mini-course covered such topics as defense policy and strategy, national security organization, the influence of the Washington think tank community, and Defense Department interactions with Congress.<\/p>\n
Mayville and Pasquarett hope that the program can be expanded, and that in the future political science and history students can join the Furman cadets in Washington.<\/p>\n
The information gathered and connections made through \u201cHow Washington Works\u201d will likely provide a career boost to the 2013 cadets, who received their commissions May 3. Perhaps one or more of them will become the next Furman general.<\/p>\n
NEW FACE IN THE OFFICE:<\/b> Sarrin Towle Warfield \u201903 has joined our staff as assistant director of alumni programs. She earned her Furman degree in communication studies with a concentration in women\u2019s studies, then received a master\u2019s in organization development and a coaching certificate from the McColl School of Business at Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. She\u2019s married to Rob Warfield \u201902.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re delighted to have Sarrin back on campus. With Homecoming approaching, don\u2019t be surprised to hear from her soon!<\/p>\n
\u2014 TOM TRIPLITT<\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
A report by Erikah Haavie for edge.furman.edu served as the basis for this column. Tom Triplitt, a 1976 graduate, is Furman\u2019s executive director of constituent relations and alumni programs.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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