Former CIA director David Petraeus
Former CIA director David PetraeusAFP file

Former CIA director David Petraeus, who resigned from his position last year after revelations about an extra-marital affair, will teach at a California college this year, it was confirmed Thursday, according to the AFP news agency.

Petraeus, who has already agreed a teaching job in New York later this year, will join the University of Southern California's faculty as a professor to teach classes and participate in seminars and panels, a USC statement said.

The four-star general commanded coalition forces during the so-called surge in Iraq and later in Afghanistan.

He is one of the most decorated and respected military figures of his generation and has been talked about as a possible presidential candidate.

Petraeus took over at the CIA in 2011 but resigned late last year after admitting to an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, who is 20 years younger than him.

In a speech hosted by USC in Los Angeles in March -- his first public address since the scandal broke -- Petraeus apologized for his behavior and vowed to rebuild his life.

"Life doesn't stop with such a mistake; it can and must go on," he said.