{"id":52643,"date":"2025-01-23T09:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=52643"},"modified":"2025-05-02T10:50:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T15:50:47","slug":"tarleton-state-to-launch-college-of-leadership-and-military-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/tarleton-state-to-launch-college-of-leadership-and-military-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarleton State To Launch College of Leadership and Military Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University will introduce its eighth academic college Sept. 1 when the Leadership and Military College becomes the College of Leadership and Military Studies, building on the university\u2019s military legacy of over 100 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Professional
Col. Doug Simon<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Col. Doug Simon, Dean and Commandant of Cadets at Tarleton State since 2022, will lead the college. He also serves as deputy legal counsel for United States Strategic Command, Army Reserve Element, at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Neb. In that role, he supervises and coordinates Army Reserve judge advocate legal support for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate while providing legal advice on matters associated with military law and the law of armed conflict at the strategic level. He previously served eight years as staff judge advocate for the State of Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His higher education career spans 25 years. At Southwest Minnesota State University, he chaired the Department of Business and served on accreditation, strategic planning and institutional assessment committees. His broad academic background includes teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in public and private law, leadership and public policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A veteran of Operations Joint Forge and Iraqi Freedom, Col. Simon was awarded the Bronze Star for combat service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the current bachelor\u2019s degree in leadership and strategic studies, plans for the new college include a Center of Leadership and Strategic Studies and a Master of Science degree in leadership and strategic studies. Applications are to be presented for approval by The Texas A&M System this summer. The leadership center will be proposed to begin operations in fall 2025, with the master\u2019s program in leadership and strategic studies launching in spring 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These academic and cocurricular experiences will provide cadets and students with opportunities to explore an exciting field of study and pave the way for rewarding careers in the Armed Forces and defense-related agencies or industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a first time in college student, my pathway for upward social mobility rested with education and the military,\u201d said Col. Simon. \u201cI currently do both, serving as an educator with 25 years of experience and in the military with 35 years of service. My experience has taught me that higher education and the military are powerful forces in how they can transform lives, and the college and its constituent elements are designed to foster that transformation so that our cadets and students can become tomorrow\u2019s leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The College of Leadership and Military Studies is one element of a larger vision mapped out by President Dr. James Hurley to achieve the Senior Military College designation for Tarleton State. Earlier this year, the university attained the silver-level Military Friendly\u00ae<\/sup> Campus designation, signifying its investment in initiatives that improve the lives of veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe creation of the college is not only a recognition of the university\u2019s rich military history, but it also projects what the future holds with achieving Senior Military College designation, an elite status that only six universities in the United States currently enjoy,\u201d Col. Simon said. \u201cTo achieve Senior Military College designation would position Tarleton State as an incredibly distinctive university offering a unique education while fostering enduring tangible life outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Diane Stearns, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, said the new academic college will serve cadets and students well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith Col. Simon\u2019s exemplary military leadership and his unwavering dedication to student success, the College of Leadership and Military Studies will thrive and be an important addition to our university,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are grateful for his willingness to embrace this new role and are confident that his experience and personal character will lead our new college forward successfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
Members of the Texan Corps of Cadets display the “States Up” hand sign.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University will introduce its eighth academic college Sept. 1 when the Leadership and Military College becomes the College of Leadership and Military Studies, building on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":473,"featured_media":52644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,422,423,425],"tags":[430,450],"class_list":["post-52643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-morestories","category-academics-research","category-campus-community","tag-academic-affairs","tag-leadership-military"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"ehellmund@tarleton.edu","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/ehellmundtarleton-edu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2025\/01\/Tarleton-State-Corps-2024-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","_morestories<\/a>","Academics & Research<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","_morestories<\/span>","Academics & Research<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Academic Affairs<\/a>","Leadership and Military<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Academic Affairs<\/span>","Leadership and Military<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 12 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on January 23, 2025","modified":"Updated on May 2, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on January 23, 2025 9:55 am","modified":"Updated on May 2, 2025 10:50 am"},"featured_img_caption":"Tarleton State Corps 2024","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/473"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52643"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52654,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52643\/revisions\/52654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}