Celebrating The Citadel Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni

March 9, 2026March 9, 2026 Alumni

The Citadel Alumni Association, or CAA, welcomed Distinguished Alumni to campus for special recognition events on February 27, honoring those who took what they learned inside the barracks and put it to work in the world.

Since the first six cadets received their diplomas in 1846, The Citadel has graduated more than 62,000 alumni. Of those, a small number have been named “Distinguished Alumni” by the CAA — individuals whose careers reflect not just personal success, but the kind of leadership and impact the school was built to produce.

“These alumni have carried The Citadel’s values into every corner of the world and into every imaginable walk of life, and we are honored to welcome them home,” said Todd Davis, president of The Citadel Alumni Association and a member of the Class of 1985. “The CAA takes great pride in ensuring their achievements are recognized where they belong — on this campus, as part of the Long Gray Line.”

The nomination process is overseen by the CAA’s Distinguished Citadel Alumni Committee. To qualify, alumni must have demonstrated the kind of achievement that stands out — whether that means one defining moment or a career’s worth of contributions that added up to something significant.

The honorees don’t fit a single mold. Generals share the room with teachers, judges, executives and public servants. What they have in common is less about what field they chose and more about how they showed up in it — as principled leaders and citizen-soldiers who are ready to do the work.

While the rain cancelled Friday’s parade, Distinguished Alumni and their guests gathered with CAA leadership at the Holliday Alumni Center. Each honoree received a certificate marking both their service to The Citadel and what they’ve accomplished since leaving it.

David Rawlinson, a graduate of the Class of 1998 and President and CEO of QVC Group, Inc., described it as a deeply humbling experience that reminded him of the institution’s role in his success.

“The Citadel is a place where I think, relative to the average institution, you live history every day. And part of the history is the people who have gone through the community and done well. And the fact that there are so many people who have not just done well, but they’ve done good in really inspiring ways. To be put on a list that includes those people, some of the best people to ever step foot on this campus, is deeply humbling,” said Rawlinson. “The other thing I’d say is it’s a reminder of the unbelievably critical role The Citadel played in my success. And I think it’s easy to get some distance and to forget just how formative the time here was. I mean, it really is a unique leadership laboratory.”

The Distinguished Alumni program is more than a list of names. The biographies of honorees trace the arc of American history itself — through wars, social change, technological transformation and civic progress.

To view the full list of Distinguished Alumni and their biographies, visit the CAA website.