Retired Air Force Gen. Harvey Schiller, who helped transform sports media as president of Turner Sports and chairman and CEO of YankeeNets, has been named board chairman of the National Medal of Honor Leadership & Education Center (NMOHLEC).

As chair of the 21-person board, Schiller will help oversee a $75 million effort to build a 50,000-square-foot facility at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, S.C., that will be home to a leadership and education center built around the core Medal of Honor values of courage, sacrifice, integrity, commitment, patriotism, and citizenship.

Once built, the center will provide character development and leadership symposiums, certification programs, coaching, retreats, and special exhibits aimed at a wide array of visitors.

The NMOHLEC is also developing a leadership curriculum tied to the Medal of Honor values for use by college students. 

On Aug. 1, the NMOHLEC hosted its launch event, a symposium on values-based leadership, at the University of South Carolina.

"I am deeply honored to join the board of the National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center, an organization aligned closely with the values deeply important to me," Schiller said. 

He added, "One thing I've learned as a leader – whether in a cockpit, a classroom, or a corporate boardroom – is the importance of doing things the right way and for the right reasons. The programs offered by the NMOHLEC will provide a unique and important perspective that will help current and future leaders no matter their field and occupation."

After graduating from The Citadel, Schiller served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, flying more than a thousand sorties in a C-123 Provider in South Vietnam and winning the Distinguished Flying Cross. 

He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from the University of Michigan before becoming a permanent professor and head of the chemistry department at the United States Air Force Academy. He retired as a brigadier general.

Schiller began a second career in sports in 1986 when he was named commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. He later became executive director of the U.S. Olympic Commission, president of Turner Sports, and chairman and CEO of YankeeNets, the ownership group then including the New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets, and New Jersey Devils.

While at YankeeNets, he played a key role in creating the YES Network, one of the original and most successful regional sports cable networks.

In 2013, he was honored as one of the "Pioneers and Innovators in Sports Business" by the Sports Business Journal.

Schiller currently is chairman of Schiller Management Group, a global consulting and business solutions company. He's also on the board of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and chairman of the Air Force Academy Athletic Corporation.

"Harvey Schiller brings a depth of high-level leadership experience and a devotion to the values of the Medal of Honor that is unmatched," said Thomas Mundell, president and CEO of the NMOHLEC. "His wisdom will infuse all that we do, and we're grateful that he has joined us in our quest to bring values-based programs to leaders who are seeking new and better ways of serving others."

Tommy McQueeney, chair emeritus of the NMOHLEC, added: "I am not acquainted with an individual possessing skill sets more aptly aligned with the role of guiding our organization. Harvey undoubtedly stands as the most fitting candidate to elevate NMOHLEC to its next level of growth."