Academy honors newly promoted full professors

  • Published
  • By Capt. Susan Bettison and Maj. Greg Bennett
  • Dean of Faculty
Academy senior leadership gathered recently during a ceremony at the Falcon Club to pay tribute to the dean of faculty's newest professors recently at a reception co-hosted by Brig. Gen Dana Born, Tim Born and the Academy Research and Development Institute.

Dr. David H. Sacko, Dr. Katherine Silz-Carson, and Dr. Brent J. Talbot join the distinguished group of 69 full professors at the Academy who have reached the pinnacle of their professions.

During the course of the event, General Born said, "Being promoted to a full professor is a distinct accomplishment, worthy of the same respect as a military promotion. These individuals have garnered a world-class reputation in their academic disciplines and have an extended record of excellence in teaching, scholarship and service."

Dr. Sacko, from the Department of Political Sciences has been at the Academy since 2002. He started his education at Middlesex County College and then obtained his undergraduate degree from the East Stroudsburg University, his master's degree from Binghamton University, The State University of New York, and his doctorate from Pennsylvania State University. 

He co-authored a book in 2007 on the international relations titled The Unipolar World: An Unbalanced Future. He has also conducted research for the Institute of National Security Studies and currently is researching security threats to the security of Central Europe.

Dr. Silz-Carson has been here for almost 12 years and works in the Department of Economics and Geosciences. She obtained her undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of New Mexico and her doctorate from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Silz-Carson's current research interests include experimental and environmental/natural resource economics. 

She is particularly proud of an article that recently appeared in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (the top journal in the field of environmental/natural resource economics), entitled; "Necessary Conditions for Demand Revelation in Double Referenda." She co-authored the article with two of her colleagues from the United Kingdom. 

She has received more than $133,000 in research grants and has taught 11 distinct economics courses. Her husband, Steven, is currently completing his master's degree in Education at the University of Colorado Springs.

Dr. Talbot has been a part of the Academy faculty for more than 14 years; his first seven years were spent in the Department of Political Science and the last seven in the Department of Military Strategic Studies. He also served three concurrent years as deputy director, Institute of National Security Studies. He garnered his undergraduate and master's degrees from Brigham Young University and his doctorate from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. 

He also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Denver, where he teaches U.S. Foreign Policy and Issues in International Security. Further, Dr. Talbot serves as the program chair for the Colorado Springs World Affairs Council.

Leadership also celebrated the contributions of visiting and endowed chairs that provide additional depth to the faculty team, honoring distinguished professors from other universities and members of government agencies like the National Security Agency and Department of State visit the Academy for a year or more.

Less than a week prior to this event, the Commission for Higher Learning granted the Academy a full 10-year accreditation and cited 16 commendations for the institution. One of the areas specifically cited by the accreditation team was the strength and vitality of the visiting professor program. 

The team felt it significantly enhanced the overall academic experience at the Academy by infusing researchers and academicians with diverse instructional styles, which ultimately benefits cadets and assigned faculty alike.