General Mark Milley ’80, a men’s ice hockey letterwinner and the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and Kathleen Mannheimer, an Athletics Fellow and invaluable resource to all student-athletes in her role with Princeton’s Center for Career Development, will both be honored as major award recipients at the Gary Walters ’67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet this Thursday, May 25, in Jadwin Gymnasium.
General Milley is the 2023 recipient of the Class of 1967 PVC Citizen-Athlete Award, presented by the PVC for selfless and noble contributions to sport and society.
Mannheimer is the 2023 recipient of the Marvin Bressler Award, given to that member of the Princeton family who, through heartfelt support of the University’s student-athletes and coaches, best embodies a belief in the lifelong lessons taught by competition and athletics as a complement to the overall educational mission in the spirit of Marvin Bressler, a Princeton professor of sociology from 1963-94.
“We are so thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to recognize General Mark Milley and Kathleen Mannheimer with these prestigious departmental awards,” says Ford Family Director of Athletics John Mack ’00. “General Milley and Kathleen both embody the values, commitment and selfless leadership that we aspire to within our Department and at the University. They are incredible representatives of Princeton and we are so fortunate to have them as part of our Team Around the Team. We look forward to honoring them this Thursday alongside our senior student-athletes and the greater Princeton Athletics community.”
General Mark Milley ’80, Class of 1967 PVC Citizen-Athlete Award recipient
General Mark A. Milley is the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman on October 1, 2019, General Milley served as the 39th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.
A native of Massachusetts, General Milley graduated from Princeton University in 1980, where he received his commission from Army ROTC. While at Princeton, General Milley was a letterwinner for the men’s ice hockey program.
General Milley has had multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and Special Forces throughout the last 42 years to include command of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division; the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division; Deputy Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division; Commanding General, III Corps; and Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command.
While serving as the Commanding General, III Corps, General Milley deployed as the Commanding General, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Forces Afghanistan. General Milley’s joint assignments also include the Joint Staff operations directorate and as a Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
General Milley’s operational deployments include the Multi-National Force and Observers, Sinai, Egypt; Operation Just Cause, Panama; Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti; Operation Joint Endeavor, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq; and three tours during Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan.
In addition to his bachelor’s degree in political science from Princeton University, General Milley has a master’s degree in international relations from Columbia University and one from the U.S. Naval War College in national security and strategic studies. He is also a graduate of the MIT Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program.
General Milley and his wife, Hollyanne, have been married for more than 38 years and have two children.
Kathleen Mannheimer, Marvin Bressler Award winner
Kathleen L. Mannheimer serves as a Senior Career Adviser at the Center for Career Development. In 2016, with support from the Department of Athletics and Career Development, Mannheimer proposed and created her position as liaison to the Department of Athletics, supporting the career development of student-athletes from all 38 teams. Seeing how busy student-athletes are, juggling academics and athletics, she saw the need for a more dedicated and visible athletics point person from the Center. As a parent of a former D1 athlete, she was aware of the time and energy demands on elite student-athletes, and she is passionate about assisting them at times when they are available. Mannheimer aims to ensure that Princeton student-athletes feel fully supported in their career development. She loves to help translate the skills built through athletics and academics into their career pursuits. She meets frequently with prospective student-athletes and collaborates with coaches on alumni/team mentoring career events. At the Center she also works with students who are interested in exploring business careers, so her advising portfolio is broad.
Mannheimer is a Princeton Athletics Fellow to Women’s Basketball and Football, and works collaboratively with Jess Deutsch, Associate Director, Student-Athlete Services. They recently co-hosted a panel of alumnae for Women in The Business of Professional Sports and are planning a Fall 2023 event bringing together athletics alumni and student-athletes for a networking breakfast before the Fall Career Fair.
Mannheimer holds a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and a master’s degree in counseling. More recently she completed national certification as a resume writer and as a board-certified career coach. Prior to Princeton, Mannheimer worked in a diverse range of industries and roles, including nonprofit leadership, corporate human resources at Fortune 500 companies such as General Electric, and counseling with a wide range of clients.
Mannheimer’s commitment to career advising of student-athletes has been recognized through her publication, Integrative Approaches to Engage Student-Athletes in Career Development, in a national career journal, and in her presentation, Holistic Career and Life-Focused Approach to Helping Student-Athletes Find Meaningful Work, at a national career conference. She was also awarded the President’s Achievement Award in 2018 for her work supporting student-athletes.
