Robert Rudolph Ivany (born February 4, 1947) is a retired major general in the United States Army, and was the eighth president of the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Military career Born in Austria to Hungarian war refugees, Ivany attended college at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In addition to earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy in 1969, he received a Doctor of Philosophy in History from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in May 1980. His doctoral thesis was entitled The Exploited Emigres: The Hungarians in Europe, 1853-1861 and his thesis advisor was Theodore S. Hamerow. Serving as the commandant (president) of the War College capped Ivany's 34-year career in the army. During his various commands as an armored cavalry officer, he led soldiers in the United States, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Federal Republic of Germany and Vietnam where he was wounded in action and decorated for valor. When not assigned to troop units, Ivany assisted several nations in the transformation of their armed forces, including stints in Hungary, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Ivany also served in several unique positions, including serving as the Army Aide to the President of the United States from 1984 to 1986. Ivany also served as an assistant professor of history and as a football coach at the Military Academy at West Point. As the Commanding General of the Military District of Washington from 1998 to 2000, he directed a diverse organization of 5500 civilian and military employees based on seven installations in three states and the District of Columbia. Prior to his retirement from the Army with the rank of major general, Ivany had presided over one of the nation's most respected institutions for the education of strategic leaders: the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There for three years, he instituted programs to develop the next generation of military and civilian leaders from the United States and 42 foreign countries to meet the challenges of cultural change, organizational transformation and a drastically altered national security environment. Academia After retiring from the army in October 2003, Ivany joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University as an adjunct professor in Executive Education. He worked with senior executives in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States in leader development, strategic planning and cultural change. On July 1, 2004, Ivany became the