Riverside Military Academy announces alumni-led vision to become America’s premier military leadership academy

 

GAINESVILLE, Georgia – Building upon more than 120 years of educational excellence, Riverside Military Academy has announced a strategic transformation designed to position the institution as the premier military boarding academy in the United States while establishing a long-term vision to become a premier globally recognized American military academy.

 

The initiative is being led by recently named President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Nizar Zakka, RMA Class of 1985, a longstanding advocate of the academy who has been working alongside his fellow trustees and a group of mission-aligned investors to bring this vision to reality.  The direction he and the board have developed honors the school’s historic legacy while preparing it to educate future generations of leaders for an increasingly interconnected world.

 

The long-range vision will unfold over time, beginning with renewed investment in academics, faculty, and campus life. Each stage will strengthen the institution’s foundation while expanding its national and international influence.

 

Over the longer term, the academy will also explore the potential to license the Riverside name and educational model to carefully selected international partners. Any such opportunity would be evaluated on its own merits and pursued only where it upholds Riverside’s standards. Gainesville, Georgia will remain the academy’s home and flagship campus. The board of trustees has also welcomed new members bringing experience in education, finance, and international business.

 

For more than a century, Riverside has prepared young men through its distinctive military model of education, emphasizing character, discipline, leadership, academic excellence, and service. That enduring mission remains at the center of the academy’s future.

 

“Our vision is not to change who we are, but to build upon what generations of alumni, faculty, families, and this community have created over the past 120 years,” said J. Jette Campbell, immediate past chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Because of the steadfast support of our Riverside community and the dedication of those who believe in this institution, we have the opportunity to preserve an extraordinary legacy while positioning RMA to become the nation’s premier military leadership academy and, ultimately, a globally recognized leader in military education.”

 

The transformation strategy reflects the evolving needs of leadership in the twenty-first century while remaining rooted in the academy’s proven military tradition. The institution’s mission is to develop disciplined, ethical, resilient, and technologically capable leaders prepared to excel in military service, higher education, business, public service, and communities around the world.

 

The school also recognizes the extraordinary role that Gainesville City and the surrounding community have played in its success for more than a century. Through generations of local families, civic leaders, businesses, churches, alumni, and supporters, the academy has become an enduring part of the region’s identity.

 

“This institution has never belonged to one generation alone,” said President and Board of Trustees Chairman Zakka. “It belongs to every cadet whose life was transformed here, every alumnus who carried its values into the world, and every member of this community who has supported its mission. Together, we have an unprecedented opportunity to preserve this remarkable legacy while creating a military leadership academy whose influence reaches far beyond our campus.”

 

As this work begins, the academy will continue building partnerships with alumni, donors, community leaders, educational institutions, and strategic organizations that share its commitment to developing principled leaders equipped to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and interconnected world.