THE MEN’S ISSUE
Walt Lord
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Walt Lord is the single most genuine, humble person you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. He is approachable, down to earth, and easy to talk to. Greetings are always warm and sincere, usually accompanied by a hug, and a profoundly genuine “How are you?” He embodies everything a leader should strive to be. He is even tempered, patient, listens to others, strong in his convictions, communicates clearly, logistically and logically minded, he intentionally makes people feel seen, is inclusive, the list is quite literally endless. Walt is a retired General, and has led servicemen and women at every level of the army. Enlisting as a 17-year-old, and he was commissioned as an officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard two years later. He entered active duty in 1990, and throughout his career as an armored cavalryman, Walt has led at the platoon, company, squadron and coalition headquarters levels. In June 2012, he was put in command of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he has held other critical army and joint staff positions, including allied coalition positions in the U.S., Germany, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan. He has also participated in domestic operations as a member of two dual-status Joint Task Forces with United States Northern Command. In his previous role leading the Pentagon’s Reserve Forces Policy Board (RFPB) staff, Walt and the Chairman of the RFPB provided advice directly to the U.S. Secretary of Defense on policy issues that impact the nation’s seven military Reserve Components. When the time came for Walt to retire, he and his wife Grace got out the map. Though never stationed at Fort Campbell, the Lords came down to check out the area. Both Walt and Grace are Pennsylvania natives, but Clarksville was love at first sight. Immediately feeling at home here, they didn’t even want to entertain
looking elsewhere: beyond a shadow of a doubt, Clarksville was home. Immediately upon moving to Clarksville, they jumped in headfirst, and have made our city a more beautiful, vibrant place simply by being here. At every community event, never missing an Eat, Drink & Be Social, donating time, talents and treasures to local nonprofits, their energy, enthusiasm and devoted dedication are infectious. Recently, Walt joined Austin Peay State University’s senior leadership team as the institution’s second military adviser in residence. In this new role, Walt will advise the APSU leadership team on how the University can better serve and recruit military students, and he will help develop Austin Peay’s new Institute for National Security and Military Studies. Walt attended the Senior Executive Seminar at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and the General/Flag Officers and Ambassadors Course at the NATO Defense College. He is a National Security Fellow of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He earned a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. Austin Peay is the state’s largest provider of higher education to military-affiliated students, with about 25% of enrolled students having a military connection. This year, APSU opened the Newton Military Family Resource Center to provide seamless support to military-affiliated students, from applying for admission to securing employment after graduation. Obviously, he is supremely qualified for his new role professionally, and personally he brings the intangible qualities that grow and develop people and communities. APSU and Clarksville as a whole are unquestionably better, more dynamic places because of Walt.
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