Former Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera was the mastermind behind
the "Army of One" recruitment campaign that's currently hitting
the airwaves with a vengeance. Now the New Democrat is charged with recruitment
of a different sort in his new role as the California State University
system's vice chancellor for university advancement.
The West Point and Harvard graduate held the Army post under President
Clinton from 1998 through 2000. Before that, he served as chief executive
officer of the Corporation for National Service and as a member of the
California legislature representing downtown Los Angeles.
Caldera says shifting his focus from the Army to student recruitment
and university fundraising was a logical next step. In his new role, he
says, he hopes to bridge the divide between academia and the military.
"We have to build public and private support for this university
so it can meet the needs and skills we need to give our military personnel,"
he says of the university's 23-campus network serving nearly 400,000 students.
"Like the Army of One slogan, we need to develop a brand for the
California University system to raise its visibility and get the community
involved."
Caldera says his Army experience taught him that community partnerships
can be a powerful recruitment tool. It's a lesson he plans to apply in
his new capacity. The right programs, he says, can go a long way toward
changing the minds of young men and women who think joining the military
means falling behind their college-bound peers.
"I wanted [the military] to be an opportunity for young people to
serve their country and have good benefits," he says. "But it
also should be the opportunity to get their education and skills training,
as well as the world-view experience, while serving their country at the
same time.
"Democrats have to be strong on defense," Caldera says. "We
have a unique opportunity to improve the lives of the men and women who
are willing to serve in our military. That is certainly on point with
our values of opportunity and responsibility, because these people are
willing to give back to their country."
-- Kate Herman
