Major General Clifford L. Stanley USMC retired and President, Scholarship America

Dr. Clifford L. Stanley, a retired Major General, led a distinguished 33-year career with the U.S. Marine Corps before becoming the president of Scholarship America in 2004.

Stanley became the Marine's first-ever African-American regimental commander early in his career. Promoted to the ranks of Colonel and Brigadier General well ahead of the Marine Corps' normal schedule, he has received numerous military honors.

In addition to his bachelor's degree in psychology, Stanley holds a master's degree in counseling with honors from Johns Hopkins University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania, along with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from South Carolina State University.

Throughout Stanley's career, he trained and educated servicemen; raised merit-based scholarships for deserving high school students in local communities; tutored local elementary, middle and high-school students; volunteered with a variety of education-related organizations and spoke nationally about education issues. Upon retiring from the military in 2002, Stanley joined the University of Pennsylvania as executive vice president.

Stanley envisions furthering Scholarship America's mission by enabling all students, regardless of their financial status, to have access to higher education and the academic support they need, from the time they begin school until they complete post-secondary education. Scholarship America has distributed more than $1 billion to more than one million students.

His affiliations include the White House Fellowship Association, the McCormick Educational Foundation, the United States Naval Institute, Spalding University, Boy Scouts of America, the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum in Philadelphia, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

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