Woods Gets Honorable Discharge, Must Repay Tuition

Anthony Woods, M.P.P. ’08—a U.S. Army captain who had served two tours in Iraq—was dismissed from the military after coming out as gay.

Anthony C. Woods, M.P.P. ’08 (the subject of this item in our January-February issue), recently learned that his discharge from the military will be classified as honorable.

A former captain in the U.S. Army who served two tours in Iraq and had been tapped to teach at West Point, Woods gave the graduate English address at Commencement last year. Soon after, he informed his Army supervisor that he was gay, effectively initiating his own dismissal.

Woods, who now works in the Washington, D.C., office of New York governor David Paterson, will still be required to pay the government $35,000, the cost of his military scholarship to the Harvard Kennedy School—a “small price to pay,” he notes, “for being able to live my life."

 

Most popular

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.

A former Harvard College writing tutor changes her mind on LLMs.

Professor Cornell William Brooks and Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts hold a lively debate on DEI and Project 2025.

Explore More From Current Issue

A glowing bulb shape surrounded by colorful, swirling energy lines against a blue background.

Harvard researchers achieve medical breakthroughs in cancer therapy and infection control.

Two laboratory researchers, one seated and one standing, in a scientific lab with equipment.

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.

Three hands hold smartphones displaying social media profiles with likes and hearts.

Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.