Flag Officer event to highlight national security leadership

An annual celebration of Central Michigan University’s role in creating leaders is adding a new wrinkle this year: Celebrating the university’s burgeoning leadership in national security.

The expanded Flag Officer event is planned for one of this fall’s biggest stages: The Oct. 17 home football game against Western Michigan University. Previously focused on the idea of leadership, this year’s event pushes what that concept means at CMU to new ground.

Officials from Central Michigan University Research Corporation plan to officially unveil CMU’s role in the National Security Consortium, a partnership of universities and industry to help advance American national security. The consortium partners several Michigan universities and industry working to solve critical security issues.

An unveiling ceremony is planned before Saturday’s football game at the CMURC facility, at 2625 Denison Dr. in the SmartZone south of Kelly-Shorts Stadium, said Erin Strang, CMURC president.

CMU is leading regional efforts through the consortium and is drawing from faculty experts across campus, including in the Drone Lab, the College of Science & Engineering, the fashion & merchandising lab and the Reserve Officer Training Corps. The program will involve faculty from all seven colleges and a range of interdisciplinary programs.

Two focal areas of CMU’s role in the consortium are critical materials and warfighter resiliency, Strang said.

It is one of two highlights of the Flag Officer event, which was originally started to celebrate CMU’s role in educating more than 150 military officers of flag rank through the lens of leadership.

This year’s celebration of leadership will also take a slightly different approach, instead focusing on the nature of service and sacrifice, said (Ret.) Major Gen. Darren Werner, a CMU alumni and key event organizer.

Organizers plan to tell that story through the dedication of a POW/MIA chair in the lobby of John G. Kulhavi Events Center. John Kulhavi, one of CMU’s most prominent alumni, is also one of CMU’s more than 150 flag officers.

Kulhavi will dedicate the chair with assistance from the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle club that attends ceremonies like military funerals to ensure that protocols of decorum are respected.