April is now upon us, and in addition to the transition from winter to spring we are also going through our annual transition on campus. The Corps of Cadets recently celebrated the recognition of the passing of the seniors who represented the Honor Committee so well, and passed to the new seniors the responsibility of protecting, preserving and training all of our cadets. Soon we will hold the Promotion Parade, which will represent the smooth and orderly transition of the leadership of our Corps of Cadets to the rising seniors.

On behalf of all the faculty and staff, I want to say how impressed I have been with this senior class, not only the members of the Honor Committee and chain of command, but all of our students, both civilians and cadets. You have been outstanding leaders for our University. I know that you will do great things as you continue to live our Norwich values throughout your lives. We celebrate with the graduating seniors and look forward with great anticipation to the emergence of new student leadership to carry on the traditions of the past.

I am pleased to announce that Lieutenant General John Riggs will be on our Northfield campus on April 10, 2001 to oversee my induction as the a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Vermont. (Even though I am a retired Coast Guard admiral, I am allowed to serve as a Civilian Aide now that I am no longer on active duty.) It is a great honor for me to represent our Army, and it is a great opportunity for me to continue to brag in the halls of the Pentagon about what we do here at Norwich University.

Being a Civilian Aide to the Secretary allows me to represent him when he is not available in our state or local geographic area. It also gives me a chance to interface with other opinion setters, legislators, CEOs and others about the interests that are most important to our fighting men and women in the United States Army.

Mr. Joe Milano, vice chairman of the Board of Trustees, presently serves as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary for the State of Massachusetts.

Mr. Fred Bertrand, NU Class of '58, previously served a very long term as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army in Vermont.

I have asked Lieutenant General Riggs to be a Leadership Series speaker on the day that I am inducted and to speak about the leadership challenges our graduates will face. All of our students, civilians and cadets, are invited and expected to be in attendance, with the exception of those who might be in a regularly-scheduled class.

I have invited a number of local dignitaries and businessmen to be present for my installation and LTG Riggs' Leadership Series lecture on April 10, 2001. If you see visitors on campus, please be sure to ask whether you can direct them to their destination, and give them a wonderful Norwich welcome to our campus.

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