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Colonel
Daniel Uribe
Permanent Professor 2008–
B.S., United States Air Force Academy
M.S., Air Force Institute of Technology
Ph.D., Arizona State University
Dan Uribe, the Academy’s 88th Permanent Professor, was born in Juarez, Mexico, in 1964. He immigrated to the United States in 1978 and became a US Citizen in 1984 while a student at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School. He graduated from the Academy in 1988 with a Bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering and a minor in Spanish. His first assignment was as a Strategic Missile Guidance Systems Engineer, Test and Evaluation Group, Vandenberg AFB, CA, where he was lead Guidance and Control Engineer for two ICBM programs. In 1991 Dan was assigned to the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, earning his Master’s degree in Astronautical Engineering in 1992. His thesis involved GPS Navigation on reentry vehicles. He next went to the 46th Test Group, Holloman AFB, NM, 1993–1995, first as Chief, Global Positioning System Integration Element; then Chief, Navigation Systems Element; and finally Chief, Group Financial Management Branch. Dan led efforts to integrate GPS into every AF weapon system. In 1995 he was assigned to the Academy’s Department of Foreign Languages as an Instructor of Spanish, but he was also an Instructor of Astronautics and even taught the core Astronautics course in Spanish. He left the Academy in 1999 to serve as Chief, Advanced Development and Program Manager, Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems Program, Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, MA. In that position, he led a joint program to develop the next-generation precision landing system for the Air Force, Army, and Navy, and opened technical discussions to adopt the system as the NATO standard. In 2000 Dan entered a doctoral program at Arizona State University, Tempe, earning his PhD degree in Educational Technology in 2002. His research focused on using a computer-mediated environment for language production while working collaboratively to solve complex problems. This work led directly to acquisition of the language laboratory system still in use at the Academy today. Returning to the Academy, he served the Department of Foreign Languages as Operations Officer, Deputy Department Head, and in 2006, Department Head. During 2007, he was deployed for a year to the NATO Air Component Command HQ, Izmir, Turkey, as the Lessons Learned Branch Chief and Executive Officer to the Commander. During this time, he led NATO inspection teams to assess the readiness of Ukraine to join the Alliance. Dan was appointed Permanent Professor and Head, Department of Foreign Languages, in 2008. In this role, he led the largest expansion in personnel and programs in the department’s history with the addition of Portuguese and the establishment of cadet study abroad programs in foreign universities. Dan served on the Air Force Language Action Panel, the Air Force Language and Culture Executive Steering Committee, and the Air Force Security Cooperation Working Group. He also led efforts to align the curriculum with new World Readiness Standards for foreign language education. During 2014–2015 he was on sabbatical assignment as Executive Officer, Senior Military Advisor, and Defense Policy Advisor to the Ambassador, US Mission to NATO, Brussels, Belgium. During this time, Dan represented the United States in the Political Security and Cooperation Committee and provided advice on defense matters. Returning in 2015, Dan also has served as Chair of the Humanities Division.