Fayetteville State University hires retired Army four-star general
After nearly 40 years of military service, retired Gen. Michael X. Garrett is part of Fayetteville State University's "Bronco family," officials announced Monday.
Garrett’s ended his last assignment as commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg in July and was the Army’s ninth Black four-star general. He will now serve as FSU's executive in residence at the school's College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The announcement followed Garrett’s keynote speech during FSU’s inaugural military appreciation luncheon held Monday in the university’s Rudolph Jones Student Center Ballroom.
“You don’t bring a four-star general on the team if you don’t mean business,” FSU Chancellor Darrell Allison said.
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Monica Leach, FSU’s provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, announced Garrett’s new job and outlined what it means to the Fayettville-based, historically Black university.
Leach said one of the university's strategic priorities is to increase support for the military-affiliated community and increase the current military-affiliated student enrollment from 2,000 to 3,000 by 2025.
This university announced last year that starting in the fall it would provide scholarships to cover tuition costs for military-connected students.
Leach said that in order to help FSU meet its goals, Garrett will serve as a guest speaker in classes such as intelligence studies, military history, international politics and business management.
He will assist in a communitywide speaker series and lead faculty workshops on topics such as motivating or engaging military-affiliated students, and will advise faculty and staff about military training opportunities and research needs, Leach said.
Garrett will also participate in student workshops that support FSU’s Male Mentoring Initiative and work with Wesley Fountain, vice chancellor for external affairs and military relations, to advocate for information sharing with organizations that support the military at federal, state and regional levels, Leach said.
“We welcome Gen. Garrett to the Bronco family to continue our tradition to better position Fayetteville State University to meet the needs of our students around our mission and vision of serving military veterans, active duty personnel, military spouses and their dependents,” Leach said.
Garrett said he is honored to be part of the Bronco family and recognized the university for its Center for Defense and Homeland Security, ROTC detachments and academic programs for veterans, military families and “future military and government leaders.”
“For proof of your impact, look no further than the tens and tens of thousands of service members and military families with Fayetteville State diplomas proudly displayed on their walls, each representing the opportunities, intellectual curiosity and well-rounded education that makes the world’s smartest, strongest and most ready military in the world,” Garrett said.
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In speaking about military appreciation, Garrett said the oaths that service members take are similar to FSU’s “deeds, not words” motto.
“Look around, living and working and serving in a military town is a package deal,” he said. “Everyone is better off because everyone brings their own flavor of leadership and resilience to the table.”
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Retired Army general takes on role at Fayetteville State University
