Monday Morning Magyar: Major Gen. Robert Ivany

From the AHF:

Major General Robert Ivany, Ph.D. (b. Hungary, 1949)

West Point Graduate; West Point (Army) Football Coach; Commanding General, Military District of Washington; Commandant of the War College; and currently President of the University of St. Thomas, Houston.

Three-year-old Robert Ivany, the son of World War II refugees from Hungary, immigrated to the United States with his parents following the war. He grew up in Cleveland and eventually graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1969. Over the course of his 34 years of dedicated service in the United States Army as an armored cavalry officer, he led soldiers in the United States, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Vietnam where he was wounded in action and decorated for valor. He assisted several nations in the transformation of their armed forces. In 1990, Robert Ivany was the first senior military officer invited to Hungary to contribute to the democratization of their defense establishment.

General Ivany taught history at West Point, coached the West Point football team, spent 2 years as an aide to President Ronald Reagan, and commanded forces throughout the world. In July 1998, Major General Ivany was assigned as the Commanding General, Military District of Washington. General Ivany's career culminated with his appointment as the 45th Commandant of the War College at Carlisle Barracks, the Army's foremost institution for educating its leaders. Dr. Ivany retired from the Army on September 30, 2003 and is now President of Houston's University of St. Thomas.

Dr. Ivany is a recipient of the 2006 Col. Commandant Michael Kovats Medal of Freedom from the American Hungarian Federation. He is also recipient of the General Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence in Military Writing. An expert on leadership development, he is presently conducting research on the leadership attributes of 20 generals and admirals who have transitioned to corporate leadership. In addition to earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he received a Ph.D. in Modern European History from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.