The Class of 1951 Leadership Chair for the Study of Leadership is a position filled by an eminent leadership scholar and/or practitioner who helps enhance both the Academy’s and the Department’s ability to develop cadets into leaders of character.  General (retired) Vincent "Vince" Brooks begins his two-year tenure as the Class of ’51 Chair in August 2022.  Before serving as the ’51 Chair, GEN(RET) Brooks, USMA '80, was his graduating class's First Captain, General Brooks joined the Infantry and led with distinction across the continental United States, Germany, Kosovo, Iraq, Hawaii, and Korea, culminating with assignments as the commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division, US Army Central (ARCENT/Third Army), US Army Pacific, and US Forces-Korea/United Nations Command. General Brooks earned a Master of Military Art and Science from the School of Advanced Military Studies at the US Army Command and General Staff College and was a National Security Fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

What does the Chair do?

Over their two-year tenure, the Chair generally visits West Point three times per semester for two or three days. During each visit, Chairs facilitate seminars with various cadet and faculty groups (such as intercollegiate team captains, cadet chain of command leaders, cadet diversity groups, and combat veterans) to share insights and facilitate discussion and growth along a unifying theme. Past themes included topics:

• Transformational leadership
• Leading change
• Demonstrating moral courage
• Building inclusive teams

An Opportunity to Influence the Future

As a faculty member at the world’s premier leader development institution, the Class of 1951 Chair is in a unique position to profoundly influence the next generation of leaders.
Each Chair has the opportunity to impart their own unique essence on the position. Past examples include:

• Francis Hesselbein regularly contributed to the discussion of gender-specific issues within the Corps of Cadets and the Army through the Margaret Corbin Forum
• Jim Collins rock climbed with cadets in Arvin Gymnasium

• Secretary Eric Shinseki hosted a book club where he and six cadets read and discussed We Were Soldiers Once… and Young
• General Austin led discourses on current events such as those at Charlottesville with cadets and faculty
• Coach K brought members of the US Olympic basketball team to USMA to discuss their perspectives on leading teams
• Tom Tierney twice served as a senior fellow for the McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character
• General Austin helped raise funds for and mentored cadets in the EXCEL Scholars program which supports underrepresented minorities as they compete for scholarship programs (e.g., Rhodes, Rotary. etc.)