As The Citadel prepares to launch its sixth academic school, the college celebrated a major milestone with the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Krause School of Leadership and Ethics.

The new school will unite the existing Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics and the college’s Department of Leadership Studies into a single entity, supporting the college’s mission to educate and develop principled leaders for all walks of life.

Today’s celebrations were made possible by Mr. and Mrs. L. William Krause, ’63, who committed to giving an additional $5 million to establish and name the Krause School of Leadership and Ethics.

“There are not many schools of leadership — there are departments of leadership and various things, but there are very few schools of leadership. So we have an opportunity here to do some groundbreaking — pun intended — in terms of what does a school of leadership really mean, how does that impact people and what’s the curriculum going to be,” said Bill Krause. “I know both Gay and I are extremely excited about what’s to come.”

The new facility will provide learning spaces and offices, as well as cutting-edge technology designed to help foster leadership skills and improve ethical decision-making.

“We’ll expand our capacity to produce principled leaders that will serve our community, our state, our country and our allies across the world in the decades to come,” said The Citadel President Gen. Glenn Walters, USMC (Ret.), ’79. “The Citadel’s positioned to become the leader in combining academic and experiential leadership development, while creating opportunities to advance the field in ways we won’t even know and can only imagine here in 2025.”

Until the new Krause School of Leadership and Ethics officially launches in 2026, the Department of Leadership Studies will continue to educate students on how to be principled leaders. The Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics will also continue working on the development of programs in leadership and ethics that support The Citadel’s vision and mission.

“This building is a major milestone, not just for our campus but for the many students whose lives will be impacted the moment they enter our gates,” said Sally Selden, Ph.D., SPHR. “Countless students will study here, will be challenged here and will become future leaders here.”

The Krauses have collaborated with three presidential administrations and have provided the vision, guidance and resources to establish The Citadel as the college of choice for those seeking to serve as principled leaders prepared to meet the challenges facing the nation and the world today.

“Bill and Gay have been the heartbeat of so many efforts benefiting The Citadel and our leadership development program. What we are doing here today is the next great step in that continued progress of success,” said Walters.

About the donors

L. William Krause, Citadel Class of 1963

Bill Krause, ‘63, is president of LWK Ventures, a private investment firm specializing in mentor capital. He is perhaps best known for stewarding 3Com Corp. through its high-growth years in the 1980s as president and CEO, and subsequently as chairman of the board through 1993 when he retired. Krause’s leadership transformed 3Com from a venture capital start-up into a $1 Billion+ publicly traded data networking company with operations worldwide.

Prior to his leadership of 3Com, Krause spent 14 years at Hewlett-Packard, where his final position was general manager of the General Systems Division with worldwide responsibility for the company’s personal computer business. Krause also currently serves on the board of directors of CommScope, Inc.; Forward Networks, Inc.; Smartcar, Inc.; and Veritas Technologies, Inc.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from The Citadel in 1963 and received an honorary doctorate of science in 2000.

L. Gay Krause

Gay Krause, Bill’s wife and a former teacher, counselor and middle school principal in Mountain View, California, has been instrumental in developing the Krause Center for Innovation, a teacher training center at Foothill College in Los Altos, Calif. As executive director of the Krause Center for Innovation, she has established an outstanding regional professional development center for educators in Silicon Valley and beyond.