Academy recruits finest faculty,

students to create leaders,

Letters to the editor
Colorado Springs Gazette, Feb. 21, 2007

Maximizing the desired growth and learning by Air Force Academy cadets is always of utmost importance. Our nation has entrusted to us more than 4,000 of its finest young men and women, and we have the privilege and opportunity to foster their development into leaders of character with the knowledge, skills and responsibilities they will need to succeed.

The academic performance by our cadets this past fall is a complex issue that demands the rigorous investigative analysis which we are undertaking. Interestingly, while too many of our Fourth Classmen (freshmen) are struggling academically - having the lowest average grade point averages and the greatest number on academic probation in 20 years - our upper classes are excelling, with record numbers of straight-A students and more than 1,900 cadets across the cadet wing earning a 3.0 or better GPA. In addition, the class of 2007 includes winners of Rhodes, Marshall and Truman scholarships.

However, to better understand the deficiencies, we are exploring and testing many factors and hypotheses involving a wide variety of aspects of the academy experience such as military training, instructional methods, entrance standards and others, including distractions such as cell phones and Internet use.
Our professional faculty is wholly dedicated to our mission and is uniquely blended and suited for that task. The most recent Princeton Review rated the USAFA faculty No. 1 of 351 colleges and universities in the country for making themselves available to students. Currently, of our 563 authorized faculty positions, about 73 percent are military officers and the remaining 27 percent are civilians. Officers hail from all branches of the U.S. armed forces and from the militaries of France, Korea, Japan and more. Visiting faculty and endowed chair fellows come from a variety of colleges and universities, governmental agencies, industry and the private sector.
Civilians became part of USAFA's longterm faculty in 1993 and are an integral, vital and robust element of our team. Faculty positions are advertised nationally to attract the best-qualified candidates and ensure cadets experience a world-class education. Additionally, federal guidelines ensure the process is nondiscriminatory for all applicants, including those with military experience.

Of our 154 civilian faculty members, slightly fewer than a third have prior military experience. Military retiree faculty members have won numerous professional awards such as the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Colorado Professor of the Year Award, as well as numerous research awards. Faculty members continue regularly to garner prestigious academic recognitions, including, for example, Fulbright Scholarships.
As the dean of the United States Air Force Academy, I am proud to lead our faculty and staff as we strive to continually improve the quality of the cadets' learning experiences. I am committed to building upon our proud heritage - a legacy of excellence - and steering us toward preparing officers of character who embody our core values and have the knowledge, skills and responsibilities to lead in the 21st century.

Dana H. Born, '83
Brig. Gen., U.S. Air Force
Dean of the faculty
U.S. Air Force Academy