Dean holds reception for visiting faculty

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Air Force Academy honored its visiting faculty members at a reception Oct. 27 hosted by Dean of the Faculty Brig. Gen. Dana Born.

The reception gave visiting faculty an opportunity to meet one another, share ideas, and build bridges between departments for collaboration on teaching techniques and research.

Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould and his wife also attended the event, as did Athletic Director Hans Mueh and several other senior leaders.

The reception for visiting faculty first took place in 1975 with two visiting faculty members. The program has grown to almost one visiting faculty member in each department.

"The Higher Learning Commission consistently cites our visiting faculty program as a critical part of the Academy's overall academic program," Born said.

Guests were greeted at the door by falconers Cadets 2nd Class Cameron Harris and Nathan Lebens and were offered the opportunity to have a picture taken with Destiny and Echo, two of the birds in the Academy's collection of falcons.

In the Stairwell, a cadet vocal group led by Cadet 2nd Class Erik Clark, entertained the guests with several contemporary songs and a medley to end the performance, punctuating a fun-filled evening.

Several of the visiting faculty members in attendance shared thoughts and assessments of their time at the Academy.

"Probably the most surprising thing I've learned is how much research the Air Force Academy has done, from faculty and cadets alike," said Dr. Gregory Parnell, a visiting instructor from the U.S. Military Academy. "It's truly remarkable for a four-year undergraduate only institution. Additionally, I've been very impressed with the multi-disciplinary engineering capstone programs that I've been working with. It's a unique opportunity to work with diverse topics and it's something that I would like to see more of at West Point."

The Political Science Department boasts two of the three government agency employees in the program, and one of them offered his take.

"I like the work atmosphere and inclusiveness in DF," said State Department faculty representative Tim Sandusky. "I also have been very impressed with the mix of civilian and military faculty. It gives balance to the mission and the education that the cadets receive. They benefit so much from interactions with civilian academics and senior military faculty. It's really unique."

(Capt. Naomi Henigan from the Academy's Political Science Department contributed to this report.)