Change Agents: International and Military Leaders

17. Woodrow Wilson 1880

His Path to Presidency and a Bigger Vision

What a person reacts against can be a powerful motivator for changing the world.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson 1880, a native of Staunton, Virginia, studied law at the University of Virginia from 1879-80 but never finished his degree. His departure was ascribed to illness, al­though it could have been a confluence of factors. He reportedly found the instruction dry, was disappointed in being awarded second place in a debate and essay contest, and was afflicted with unrequited love for his cousin Hattie Woodrow, who also lived in Staunton.

Regardless of his reasons for leaving, he finished studying law on his own at his family’s home in Wilmington, North Carolina, until he was able to pass the bar examination in Georgia. Seeing opportunity, he set up practice in Atlanta with a friend from UVA.

He soon grew disenchanted with the legal field, however. How he intended to practice law, and what people were willing to pay for, were two different matters.

“Here the chief end of man is certainly to make money, and money cannot be made except by the most vulgar methods,” Wilson wrote. “The studious man is pronounced impractical and is suspected as a visionary. Atlanta students of special­ties — except such practical specialties as carpentering, for instance—are classed together as mere ornamental furniture in the intellectual world — curious perhaps and pretty enough, but of very little use and no mercantile value.”

To his parents’ disappoint­ment, he quit law after only a year. Although he would still refer to himself as a lawyer when it was expedient, he went on to study political science and history at Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his Ph.D.

He ascended in academia to become president of Princ­eton University — his jumping-off point for his subsequent politi­cal career. He became governor of New Jersey, then the 28th president of the United States.

In concert with Wilson, Congress approved a new federal income tax, and established the Federal Reserve Bank and the Federal Trade Commission, among other major reforms. Wilson’s policies were considered progressive domestically and activist on the world stage. Following World War I, he proposed and championed the League of Nations — the aims of which, he made sure, were not obscured by the “pettifoggery” of lawyers. The intergovernmental organization was founded on Jan. 10, 1920, as a product of the Paris Peace Conference.

The United States never joined the league, nor did the league ever achieve its lofty goal of world peace. But before being dis­solved and absorbed by the United Nations, Wilson’s brainchild was important to expanding the rule of law in the world and for the ideas of collective security and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration.

Wilson was not progressive on all issues, however. His track re­cord in regard to African-American rights, including allowing seg­regation among federal workers while he served as president, is considered abysmal, and was far from world-changing for them.

19. Janet Napolitano ’83

Air Security After 9/11

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists affiliated with al-Qaida used air transportation as a tool to wage war against the United States. Janet Napolitano ’83 helped reclaim air safety.

As the third secretary of the Depart­ment of Homeland Security, serving from 2009-13, Napolitano expanded informa­tion-gathering on travelers in an effort to identify potential threats while also mak­ing flying easier for everyday passengers.

PreCheck and The Passenger Name Record Agreement between the United States and the European Union are two such efforts that reached fruition during her tenure at the department, which over­sees the Transportation Safety Adminis­tration.

Napolitano was quoted by The Atlantic as saying PreCheck, the opt-in program for so-called “known travelers” willing to submit to background checks, is “the most popular thing I’ve ever done in public service.” The program allows pre­cleared passengers to skip long lines.

More controversial, however, has been the ongoing collection of passenger name records attached to flights.

In addition to booking details, the “PNR” contains personal data about trav­elers, such as credit card numbers and internet protocol addresses that identify electronic devices, among other sensitive information. The data is reportedly pro­cessed in bulk through computer models to make risk assessments and only used for the purposes of law enforcement.

Napolitano also shaped immigration policy as secretary of homeland security, including with her initiation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, more frequently referred to as “DACA.”

The program allows some individuals who were brought to the U.S. to remain here for renewable two-year periods and creates eligibility for a work permit in the United States. Felonies and serious misde­meanors are disqualifying for candidates, and the program is not a path to citizen­ship. President Barack Obama announced the policy change on Aug. 15, 2012.

Napolitano was the first woman to serve in three high-profile government roles: attorney general of Arizona, secre­tary of homeland security and president of the University of California.

21. Arthur Murray Preston ’38

Recipient of the Medal of Honor

A practicing lawyer when World War II called Americans to duty, Arthur Murray Preston ’38 joined the Navy and, as a lieutenant in a torpedo boat squadron, commanded the rescue of a downed Navy pilot off of Indonesia’s Halmahera Island.

According to his Medal of Honor citation, Preston’s two PT boats traversed mine-laden waters and approached within less than 200 yards of a Japanese mooring station, where hostile fire was constant.

“Under continuous fire for 2½ hours, Lt. Comdr. Preston successfully achieved a mission considered suicidal in its tremendous hazards, and brought his boats through without personnel casualties and with but superficial damage from shrapnel,” the citation reads.

He went on to achieve the rank of commander before exiting the Navy.