Retired U.S. Army Col. Dave Miller is in charge of the Maj. Gen. W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development, which offers a minor in leadership studies that roughly 80 percent of cadets earn. The center, made possible by a $2 million donation in the late 1990s, also organizes the annual Cutchins Distinguished Lecture, which most recently featured Presidential historian and best-selling author Michael Beschloss. When asked what it takes to lead, Miller cites, “the three Cs,” which he outlines below.

• Competence: “People want to know, ‘Do you know your job?’ and are you willing to work hard to learn those things that you do not know.”
• Courage: “You have to be willing to make the hard decision because it’s the right thing to do, as opposed to taking the easy way out.”
• Compassion: “You have to have a genuine concern and care for the people that work for you, and it’s not something you can fake.”