When Gen. Frank McKenzie, USMC (Ret.), ’79, graduated from The Citadel nearly 47 years ago, he left campus a changed man.

On Friday, Sept. 25, McKenzie stepped onto the stage inside McAlister Field House as a changed man yet again, for his inauguration as the 21st president of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina.

There, he was joined by academic colleagues, elected officials, past Citadel presidents, fellow higher education leaders, as well as the entire Corps of Cadets who gathered to celebrate the occasion.

“Whatever I’ve achieved in life, I owe it to the four years I spent here on the Ashley River,” McKenzie said in his remarks.

He first arrived at The Citadel from Birmingham, Alabama, in the sweltering August heat knowing little about the college or what those four years would mean for him in 1975.

By the time he graduated in May 1979, McKenzie said, he had been changed in fundamental ways — intellectually, morally and personally.

The Citadel, he said, taught him how to think critically, how to write, how to study and how to learn. It made him intellectually curious. It gave him a moral compass, a sense of right and wrong, and a sense of personal honor, he said, that has guided him throughout his life.

McKenzie, who graduated from The Citadel with a degree in English, in his remarks invoked British writer and soldier T.E. Lawrence, who wrote that “all men dream: but not equally,” and that the “dreamers of the day” are dangerous because they turn their dreams into action.

“Now is the time for us to dream with our eyes open,” McKenzie said, as he shared his vision for where he would like to to see The Citadel to go next. “We have great opportunities, but we must act boldly and take advantage of our circumstances.”

McKenzie returned to The Citadel as its 21st president on July 1, following a 42-year career in the Marine Corps, which culminated in his service as commander of U.S. Central Command.

In his remarks, McKenzie pledged, “I will be relentless — relentless — in the pursuit of excellence.”

McKenzie said The Citadel is in a strong position, citing recent state and federal support, full barracks, strong enrollment and growth in The Citadel Graduate College.

But he cautioned that The Citadel cannot afford to be complacent, pointing to a shrinking pool of potential students and the uncertainty of future finances.

Those challenges, he said, underscore the need for a strong strategic vision.

McKenzie then offered a glimpse of what that vision could mean in practice, including expanding the college’s academic footprint in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and computing; increasing national recruitment; strengthening faculty compensation; competing for Southern Conference championships; and growing the college’s endowment.

At the center of that vision, he said, is leadership. The newly launched Krause School of Leadership and Ethics, he said, provides the college with a distinct and unique opportunity to position The Citadel nationally as a destination for leadership education and training.

“Leadership is what differentiates us from every other school in this state and across our country,” McKenzie said. “We need to emphasize it.”

Introducing McKenzie, The Citadel’s 18th president, Maj. Gen. John S. Grinalds, USMC (Ret.), said McKenzie arrives at a pivotal moment for the college.

“The Citadel is humming, humming with success,” he said. “Future opportunities abound. But the challenges are severe.”

He pointed to the pressures facing higher education and a world marked by conflict and uncertainty, before offering his own prescription for the college’s future: “By remaining a fortress of virtue surrounded by a moat of excellence; recruit the best of our youth. Bring them under the best faculty. Teach them to think and to act honorably. Send them out the sallyports to graduation prepared for the world’s fight.”

“Now, our new leader is prepared to do just that,” he said.

After the inauguration ceremony, a special Jeep review parade was held to mark the occasion.

On Summerall Field, the Corps of Cadets marched past McKenzie beneath clear blue skies, not long after he had reminded the cadets gathered inside McAlister Field House that their time at The Citadel is brief and that, for four years, they are stewards of a legacy that stretches back to 1842.

“The historical arc of this college is very long,” McKenzie told them. “It began in 1842 and will continue indefinitely. When you’re in the Corps, you’re the active steward of that magnificent legacy and all those tomorrows.”

As the cadets marched past him on Summerall Field, McKenzie rendered a salute. Nearly five decades after he first joined the Corps as a cadet, he stood before it again, this time as The Citadel’s president.