General Frank McKenzie (Ret.)
Former Commander US Central Command. President of The Citadel
General Frank McKenzie, Jr. USMC (Ret.) currently serves as President of The Citadel. Previously, he was Executive Director of the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute and the Florida Center for Cybersecurity. General McKenzie is the former Commander, United States Central Command.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, upon graduation from the Citadel in 1979, General McKenzie was commissioned into the Marine Corps and trained as an infantry officer. Following commands at the platoon, company, battalion, and higher levels, he led the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit on combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.
General McKenzie was promoted to Brigadier General in 2007 and held increasingly important positions when, in 2017 he was promoted to General. In 2019 he assumed command of CENTCOM, the U.S. Central Command, responsible for the Middle East including Israel and Central Asia. On April 1, 2022, he retired from the Marine Corps, completing more than 42 years of service. He has Honors Degrees and Fellowship appointments from several military colleges and a Master’s Degree in Teaching with a concentration in History.