Donald R . Gardner Major General Donald R . Gardner is a retired United States Marine Corps officer and former president of the Marine Corps University . Education . Major General Gardner graduated from Memphis State University in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in History . He also holds a Master of Arts degree in History from Memphis State University . He is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College . Marine Corps career . Gardner enlisted in the U . S . Marine Corps Reserve in 1955 , reaching the rank of sergeant . He was commissioned a second lieutenant in Reserves in 1960 after earning his Bachelor ' s Degree . Command assignments . Major General Gardner ’ s command assignments include : Platoon Commander , 2nd Battalion , 6th Marines ( 1961 ) ; Company Commander , 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion ( 1963 ) ; Company Commander , 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion ( 1966 – 67 ) ; Commanding Officer , 3rd Battalion , 2nd Marines ( 1977 ) ; Commanding General , Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune , North Carolina ( 1988 ) ; Commanding General , III Marine Expeditionary Force and Commanding General , Marine Corps Bases , Japan ( 1992 – 94 ) ; Commanding General , 3rd Marine Division ( Rein ) ( 1993 ) . Staff assignments . Major General Gardner ’ s staff assignments include : Assistant S - 3 , 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion ( 1963 ) ; Executive Officer , Marine Barracks , Bermuda , British West Indies ( 1963 – 66 ) ; S - 4 , 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion ( 1966 ) ; Radio and Television Officer , Division of Information , HQMC , Washington , D . C . ( 1968 ) ; Aide - de - Camp to the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps ( 1970 – 71 ) ; Senior Advisor to Tran Hung Dao 30 ( 1971 ) ; Marine Officer Instructor at Vanderbilt University , Nashville , Tennessee ( 1973 – 76 ) ; Plans Officer , 2nd Marine Division , Camp Lejeune , N . C ( 1978 – 79 ) ; Deputy Director , 1st Marine Corps District , Garden City , New York ( 1982 ) ; Director of the 1st Marine Corps District ( 1984 – 86 ) ; Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 3 , III Marine Amphibious Force , Okinawa , Laan ( 1986 ) ; Assistant Division Commander , 2nd Marine Division , Camp Lejeune , N . C . ( 1987 – 88 ) ; Deputy Chief of Staff for Requirements and Programs ( 1990 ) . Awards and decorations . Major General Gardner ’ s military awards and personal decorations include : Foreign Awards Post Marine Corps career . Major General Gardner retired from the U . S . Marine Corps in 1994 . From 1996 to 1999 , he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Intrepid Sea - Air - Space Museum in New York City . From 1999 to 2004 , he served as Chief Executive Officer for the Marine Corps University Foundation . On May 21 , 2004 , he was selected to fulfill the duties of President , Marine Corps University , becoming the first civilian to hold the post He retired from that position on June 25 , 2009 . The guest speaker at his retirement was GEN James T . Conway , Commandant of the Marine Corps , who referred to him as " the last Confederate general still on active duty " due to his research on America ' s Civil War . Prior to assuming duties as President , MCU , Major General Gardner had served on the Commonwealth of Virginia ' s Veterans Services Foundation . He could not maintain a position as a member of the Veterans Services Foundation , due to federal regulations .