Petraeus Reportedly Interested in Becoming Princeton University President

CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus is reportedly interested in becoming president of Princeton University, according to a report in The Daily Princetonian.

The news comes less than a week after Shirley Tilghman announced she will step down from leading the Ivy League university at the end of the 2012-13 school year. 

Multiple sources close to Petraeus, 60, say the four-star general is serious about assuming the University presidency, according to The Daily Princetonian. The newspaper notes that as recently as April, he told attendees at a private event at the Ivy eating club that he was interested in the job.  

Petraeus became the CIA's director on Sept. 6, 2011 following a 37-year career in the U.S. Army, including overseeing the military actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Petraeus may not have the academic background typical of university presidents, but he did earn his MPA and Ph.D degrees in international relations from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1987. He was also Assistant Professor of International Relations at the West Point.

He has been a loyal Princeton alumnus, giving the university's baccalaureate address in 2009 and receiving the university's James Madison medal in 2010.

The CIA issued the following statement to The Daily Princetonian from Petraeus.

“I think I’ve made my respect and admiration for the great faculty and student body of Princeton University very clear, and I will reiterate that now. As it currently stands, however, I am living the dream here at the CIA,” Petraeus said.