Gen. David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, will visit Cornell’s campus Friday, ROTC leaders said Thursday.

Petraeus will attend an annual awards ceremony for Army ROTC cadets Friday afternoon before giving a talk to 25 to 30 students and faculty from Cornell’s Peace Studies Program, according to Lt. Colonel Steven Alexander. The lecture will focus on the geopolitical situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The exact times and location of Petraeus’s visit were not being publicly disclosed due to “fairly significant” security concerns, Alexander said. He added that the events were not being publicized because Petraeus’s attendance was not confirmed until two days ago.

Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential candidate.