The Colonel Theodore Roosevelt Alumni Leadership Award is presented in honor of the Harvard Veteran (College, 1890), historian, Medal of Honor Recipient, and the 26th President of the United States. 

Theodore Roosevelt embodied the four core elements of this award and his professional achievements and commitment to public service are legendary. After serving as New York City Police commissioner, he became the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. At the start of the Spanish American War, he resigned from the McKinley administration to join the U.S. Army in the Volunteer Mounted Cavalry (The Rough Riders) as the executive officer. He was awarded the MEDAL OF HONOR for leading the charge up and capturing San Juan Hill in Cuba in 1898. He became the Governor of New York in 1898 and Vice President in 1901. He later became the 26th President of United States after the assassination of President McKinley. The nation reelected him in 1904. He was the first President to focus on the conservation of natural resources and extending federal protection to land and wildlife.