Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps - Notable Graduates

Notable Graduates

In 1960, General George H. Decker became the first ROTC graduate named Chief of Staff of the Army. General Colin Powell was the first ROTC graduate named Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was a graduate of the City College of New York. He later served as the United States Secretary of State.

Chiefs of staff of the army or chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to come out of Army ROTC include:

• Chiefs of Staff of the Army
  • General of the Army George Marshall (Virginia Military Institute)
  • General George Decker (Lafayette College)
  • General Fred Weyland (University of California, Berkeley)
  • General Gordon Sullivan (Norwich University)
  • General Peter Schoomaker (University of Wyoming)
  • General George Casey (Georgetown University)

• Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • General Colin Powell (City College of New York)
  • General Hugh Shelton (North Carolina State University)

• Other Notable Graduates*
  • Lou Holtz (Kent State)
  • Sam Walton (University of Missouri)
  • Earl Graves (Morgan State University)
  • James Earl Jones (University of Michigan)
  • Samuel Alito (Princeton)
  • Frank Wells (Pomona College)
  • Dean Rusk (Davidson College)
  • Nancy Currie (Ohio State)
  • Leon Panetta (Santa Clara University)
  • Darrell Issa (Kent State)
  • Douglas Clayton (Cornell University)

Virginia Military Institute holds the record among ROTC schools for the most general and flag officers produced, with 265 as of 2006. The University of Oregon has produced the highest number of general officers out of the civilian ROTC schools, with a total of 47. Texas A&M University produces more officers than any other ROTC program, largely because of the university's long history as a military college.