TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Retired Lt. Gen. William H. “Bud” Forster, a University of Alabama alumnus and legendary aviation innovator, will present the Helen Crow Mills and John Carroll Mills Lecture Friday, Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. in room 205 of Gorgas Library on The University of Alabama campus.
His lecture, “The Principles of Leadership,” will address the leadership skills he gained during his 30-year career in the U.S. Army, as well as his experience working with Northrop Grumman Corp., one of the country’s top aerospace and defense technology companies.
The lecture is open to the public.
Forster was instrumental in pioneering new flight systems for U.S. Army aviation during tours of duty in Europe and two tours of duty in Vietnam. In 2010, he was inducted into the Army Aviation Association of America Hall of Fame.
Forster graduated from UA’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. While at UA, he participated in Army ROTC. He later received a doctorate in nuclear chemistry from the University of California, and he is a graduate of the Air Force War College and the Navy Test Pilot School.
During his military career, he was a program manager for both the Kiowa and Apache flight programs, and he pioneered the integration of high capability electro-optic and radar systems on Army aircraft. Today, his technical contributions remain a part of every major Army helicopter in service. He was the first Army officer selected for astronaut training, and, in 1992, he became the first U.S. military officer elected to the Russian Academy of Natural Science.
Forster has received more than 30 awards for distinguished service, including two Distinguished Service Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After retiring from the U.S. Army in 1995, he received the American Helicopter Society Special Award for Lifetime Achievement in advancing vertical flight technology. He also chaired the National Academic of Sciences Board on Army Science and Technology from 1996-2001 and serves on the Army Science Board.
The Mills lectureship was established and endowed in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences by Helen Crow Mills and the late Dr. John Mills of Birmingham to bring successful and distinguished alumni and citizens to campus to speak as a way to motivate and inspire students.
Helen Mills received a bachelor’s degree from the College of Human and Environmental Sciences at UA in 1959. She is president of Crow Real Estate and Insurance Co. in Birmingham and a longtime member of the Leadership Board of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.
The late John Mills received his bachelor’s degree in pre-dental studies from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1955 and a dentistry degree from UA’s School of Dentistry in Birmingham in 1958. He practiced endodontics for 29 years and was a diplomat of the American Board of Endodontics. Mills was a pioneer in endodontics in Alabama and the only board-certified endodontist in private practice in Alabama for many years. After leaving private practice, Mills became director of the endodontic program at UA’s School of Dentistry in Birmingham.
UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.
Contact
Kelli Wright, communications specialist, College of Arts and Sciences, 205/348-8539, khwright@as.ua.edu