Retired Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf answered questions from the audience following the first annual President's Distinguished Lecture on Jan. 31 in Bovard Auditorium. President Steven B. Sample introduced Schwarzkopf - the inaugural speaker in the series that is designed to bring to USC distinguished contemporary figures responsible for shaping the world.

The series will honor "those who have changed and influenced the way we think about ourselves and the world," said Sample.

Schwarzkopf, who led the Desert Storm operations against Iraq in 1991, is a USC alumnus and author of the best-selling biography It Doesn't Take a Hero. He received a Master's of Science degree in engineering in 1964.

"There is no such thing as a born leader," Schwarzkopf told the audience. "It is character that is the single most important thing about great leaders," he said.