Penn State’s Army ROTC has been recognized with the MacArthur Award as one of the nation’s eight best Army ROTC programs out of 275 nationwide.
The award has been presented annually since 1989 by Cadet Command and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation to units that exemplify the ideals of “duty, honor, and country.”
“Penn State’s outstanding cadets, program leaders, faculty and staff bring honor to our university, and I’m thrilled that the United States Department of the Army has chosen to recognize them in this very significant way,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in a release.
The award is presented to one program in each of the eight ROTC Brigades, and Penn State’s ROTC — the Nittany Lion Battalio — beat out 42 others in the Cadet Command’s 2nd Brigade. Other winners include the University of North Georgia, Minnesota State University, Campbell University, Brigham Young University, Florida Southern College, Ohio University, and the University of Washington.
Winning programs are selected based on several factors, including cadets’ performances and standing in the Cadet Command’s National Order of Merit List, retention rate and achievement of the program’s commissioning mission.
“It is an honor to be selected for the MacArthur Award,” Col. Richard Garey, professor of military science and commander of the University’s Army ROTC program, said in a release. “The selection demonstrates the commitment of the cadets to the program and their performance, both in ROTC and outside of ROTC, as well as the continued support of the university for our program, which really enables our cadets to be successful.”
