{"id":8,"date":"2020-08-17T16:41:06","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T20:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/administration\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2026-07-09T17:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T21:06:57","slug":"president","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/administration\/president\/","title":{"rendered":"Office of the President"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Newly<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Kenneth F. \u201cFrank\u201d McKenzie Jr., USMC (Ret.), \u201879<\/strong>
21st President, The Citadel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Kenneth \u2018Frank\u2019 McKenzie is a native of Birmingham, Alabama.\u00a0 He graduated from The Citadel in 1979 as an English major and commissioned into the Marine Corps where he served in the infantry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has led at every level as a Marine and Joint Force Commander.\u00a0 He commanded First Battalion, Sixth Marines, and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) on combat deployments to Afghanistan in 2004 and Iraq in 2005-06.\u00a0 In 2006-07 he served as the Military Secretary to the 33rd and 34th Commandants of the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2007 upon promotion to Brigadier General, he served on the Joint Staff as a Deputy Director of Operations within the National Military Command Center.\u00a0 He was then selected by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be Director of the Chairman\u2019s New Administration Transition Team. In this capacity, he coordinated the efforts of the Joint Staff and the combatant commands in preparing for and executing a wartime transition of administrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General McKenzie reported in June 2009 to the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, Afghanistan, serving as Deputy to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Stability.\u00a0 Upon his return he was assigned as Director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy (J-5) for the U.S. Central Command.\u00a0 In August 2012, he reported to Headquarters Marine Corps as the Marine Corps Representative to the Quadrennial Defense Review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promoted to Lieutenant General in June 2014, he assumed command of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command.\u00a0 In October 2015, he was assigned to the Joint Staff to serve as the Director, Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5) of the Joint Staff, and later named Director of the Joint Staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2019 General McKenzie was promoted to his current rank and assumed command of United States Central Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General McKenzie is an honors graduate of the Armor Officer Advanced Course, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the School of Advanced Warfighting.\u00a0 He was selected as a Commandant of the Marine Corps Fellow in 1999 and served as a Senior Military Fellow within the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He has also earned a master\u2019s degree in teaching with a concentration in History from The Citadel and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by his Alma Mater in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2026, The Citadel Board of Visitors named General McKenzie as the college\u2019s 21st<\/sup> President, and he assumed office on 1 July 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Citadel Alumnus and retired Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie who commanded the U.S. Central Command from 2019 until his retirement earlier this year, speaks with cadets during a Greater Issues lecture Tuesday Sept. 13, 2022 at the Citadel in Charleston, SC.(Citadel Photo\/Ed Wray).(Ed Wray\/The Citadel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
General “Frank” McKenzie, USMC (Ret.). ’79 speaks to cadets during an event on leadership at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.(Ed Wray\/The Citadel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
General Frank McKenzie addresses the South Carolina Corps of Cadets Graduation 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Citadel President General Frank McKenzie arrives at Bond Hall on his first day as President of The Citadel, July 1, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gen. Kenneth F. \u201cFrank\u201d McKenzie Jr., USMC (Ret.), \u20187921st President, The Citadel General Kenneth \u2018Frank\u2019 McKenzie is a native of Birmingham, Alabama.\u00a0 He graduated from The Citadel in 1979 as an English major and commissioned into the Marine Corps where he served in the infantry. He has led at every level as a Marine and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nOffice of the President - Administration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gen. 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