President William B. Caldwell, IV

President William B. Caldwell, IV

Message from the President | President’s Military Biography

Lieutenant General (Ret.) William B. Caldwell, IV is the 21st President of Georgia Military College.

General Caldwell has served as the President of Georgia Military College since November 1, 2013. During which time there has been significant growth under his leadership. New campuses were opened, growing the GMC footprint in Georgia to include our Main Campus in Milledgeville, 11 community college campuses, and our Global Online Leadership College.

Last year GMC served 11,895 students. At the same time, student success has improved with 2021 having the largest number of graduates in GMC History with 1,992 graduates. Programs at GMC have also expanded. GMC currently offers 28 two-year degree programs and has developed strategic partnerships with high schools, technical schools, and four-year colleges to help close gaps with traditionally disadvantaged students. The college also offers six four-year Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) degree programs developed for Technical School graduates in Georgia to continue with their educational goals. GMC has continued to embrace the State’s Dual Enrollment Program, and has 3,299 high school students attending courses at GMC.

Within the College Corps of Cadets there has been a renewed focus on professionalism and commitment to service, in addition to growing the Corps. GMC is a premier Military Junior College – one of only four in the U.S., developing 2nd Lieutenants for the U.S. Army. The Corps of Cadets now also serves as a preparatory school for the United States Military Academy, United States Coast Guard Academy, the United States Naval Academy, and the United States Air Force Academy – it is known as the Service Academy Scholars Program. GMC also offers the State Service Scholarship for members of the Georgia National Guard to attend as a full-time student with no cost to them. Additionally, students seeking character and leadership skills but not a military obligation can pursue a Civic Leader pathway in the Corps. The Cadet program is built upon GMC’s core values of Duty, Honor, and Country and emphasizes the four pillars of leadership excellence—academic excellence, physical fitness, leadership development, and self-discipline.

Georgia Military College Preparatory School (K-12 grades) has also experienced growth under General Caldwell’s leadership, having added third grade in 2019, and grades K-2 in 2021. With the addition of the elementary grades, GMC Prep School also expanded its campus footprint with the historic preservation and restoration of Jenkins Hall, and now Wilder Hall; and new construction of the Prep School Annex. These buildings now house grades K – 5 in the Prep School.

In 2021, Georgia Military College and NewDay USA broke ground on a new facility, the NewDay USA Center for Leadership at Georgia Military College. This new center will provide all GMC, and in particular its preparatory students, an opportunity to listen to world renowned speakers sharing leadership lessons with students; and participate in numerous performing arts activities.

General Caldwell was commissioned as an Infantry Officer from the United States Military Academy at West Point in June 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. He went on to earn Master’s Degrees from the United States Naval Postgraduate School and from the School for Advanced Military Studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Later, he attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Senior Service College Fellow. He was also selected to serve as a White House Fellow—one of the most prestigious fellowships in our nation.

In his almost 13 years as a General Officer, Caldwell served at the highest levels of the U.S. Army. Most notably as Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, Commanding General of the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, Commanding General of the US Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, and Commander of United States Army North (Fifth Army). He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Effects, and as spokesperson for the MultiNational Force – Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom. His combat deployments include Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Just Cause (Panama) and Operation Uphold Democracy (Haiti), Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Deputy Director for Operations for the United States Pacific Command, and Assistant Division Commander, 25th Infantry Division. Lt. Gen. Caldwell received numerous awards and recognitions, both domestic and foreign, during his 37 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Army and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He and his wife, Rev. Stephanie Caldwell, are both originally from Columbus, GA. They have three children who graduated from GMC Prep School and the first is now a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army and a 2021 West Point graduate, the second is a senior at the United States Air Force Academy, and the third is a sophomore at Georgia Military College.