Submitted by Saint Martin’s Univeristy
Lieutenant General Stephen R. Lanza, commanding general of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, will deliver the 2015 Commencement address at Saint Martin’s University on Saturday, May 9, at Marcus Pavilion, located on the Lacey campus, 5000 Abbey Way S.E. The lieutenant general will also receive an honorary degree from the University.
“We are presenting Lieutenant General Lanza with the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his commitment to expanding access to educational opportunities for all service members, active and retired, and their families, at Joint Base Lewis McChord,” says Saint Martin’s President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D. “Saint Martin’s and Joint Base Lewis-McChord share a special connection and have been strong partners in education for more than 40 years.”
Lanza assumed command of I Corps at JBLM on February 6, 2014. I Corps is a globally responsive and regionally aligned force that supports the Pacific region. Through military-to-military engagements, partnership capacity building exercises and security force assistance operations, America’s Corps provides mission command and trained forces to support the Army’s Prevent, Shape, and Win Strategy.
I Corps is composed of the 7th Infantry Division at JBLM; the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; I Corps (Forward) at Camp Zama, Japan; the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command at JBLM and the United States Army-Alaska brigade combat teams, located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright.
Lanza was commissioned into the Field Artillery in 1980 after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the School for Advanced Military Studies.
He has a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies from the National War College. He has also served as a National Security Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Lanza’s command assignments include the 7th Infantry Division at JBLM; 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq; and the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
His senior staff assignments include the aide-de-camp to the commander in chief, United States Army Europe/Commander, NATO Peace Stabilization Force; concepts team chief for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, G3, Pentagon; chief, Joint Capabilities Division, J8, the Joint Staff, Pentagon; deputy commanding general for V Corps, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; G3, chief of operations, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; J9, director for strategic effects, Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I), Iraq; spokesman, United States Forces-Iraq (USF-I), Iraq; and the Army’s chief of public affairs for the secretary of the Army, Washington, D.C.
Lanza’s operational deployment experience includes Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia; Operation Joint Guard, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq; and Operation New Dawn, Iraq.
The Saint Martin’s University 2015 Commencement Exercises will begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are required for attendance.
For more information, visit http://www.stmartin.edu/commencement/.
