As noted in Chapter 3, discussions of the faculty composition took place from the beginning of planning for the Academy. After considering the arguments for a mixture of civilians and military officers, General Harmon decided to follow an all-military model.
In the summer of 1957 Headquarters USAF raised the issue again and requested the Academy consider adding civilians to the faculty. The principal consideration was cost. A survey done at the Academy showed the salary of military officers, including flight pay, was generally well above civilian educators of comparable seniority. As described in Chapter 3, the Superintendent and Dean decided to maintain the all-military position, which effectively settled the question in favor of preserving the all-military faculty, for almost 20 years.
The debate over adding civilians to the Academy faculty arose again in 1975–1976. The two major contributors to the argument were an economic analysis by the General Accounting Office and a study on educational excellence by the Department of Defense. The DoD study was the “Department of Defense Committee on Excellence in Education.” Often referred to as the Clements Committee, it was chaired by Deputy Secretary of Defense William P. Clements. The Clements Committee conducted a comprehensive examination of officer schooling throughout the DoD. The committee spent considerable time on the subject of faculty composition at the academies.
The two studies, both published in 1975, reached nearly opposite conclusions regarding civilian/military faculty mix. The GAO study concluded that the Naval Academy, with its 45 percent civilian faculty, was less expensive to operate than West Point or the Air Force Academy. The Clements Committee concluded that service academies are best served by the utilization of highly qualified young officers with recent field or fleet experience as instructors. However, the Committee noted that civilian faculty members also play a valuable role “to the extent that they provide levels of academic achievement, expertise, and national recognition beyond that which can be expected from line military officers.” The Committee did suggest that West Point and the Air Force Academy analyze the availability and educational advantages of adding civilian instructors to the faculty at a very modest level of between 5 and 10 percent.
Congressional hearings on the perceived conflict between the GAO and Clements Committee recommendations were held in 1976. Even Secretary Clements himself reportedly stated at a hearing: “If forced to make a comparison, the Naval Academy faculty would rank third in terms of academic excellence.” However, in May 1976 Senator John Glenn introduced an amendment to the Military Appropriations Bill to direct the DoD to study greater use of civilian faculty. It included the directive that “professional military instructors shall be retained for solely military and naval subjects,” although this specific language was stricken in the conference with the House. The final form of the so-called Glenn Amendment called for the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study to determine whether greater utilization of civilian faculty may be desirable at the service academies (Public Law 94-361 Sec. 809, July 14, 1976).
The Academy responded promptly. First it was noted that it had already instituted a Distinguished Visiting Professor Program (just begun in the 1975–1976 academic year; see Chapter 3). Next, a faculty-mix cost comparison study was completed with the conclusion that the all-military faculty was more cost effective than any of various military/civilian mixes. The Superintendent, Lieutenant General Allen, stated his belief that a predominantly military faculty was in the best interests of the nation, and especially objected to civilian faculty in excess of 5 percent. The DoD responded to Congress by establishing a working group under the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, which concluded that the Academy should consider increasing its civilian faculty membership to 5 percent using a mixture of visiting professors and longer term civilian faculty.
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee picked up the issue and in 1978 directed the DoD to provide a plan to increase use of permanent civilian faculties. Members of the Academy’s Board of Visitors weighed in with letters of support for the Academy’s position, including one advising that there was no need to prepare plans to accomplish this undesirable goal.
The issue was effectively set aside for a decade or more, although the tensions between advantages of civilians (reducing cost) and importance of military (imparting culture) were essentially unresolved. The Academy was content to ignore this standoff. However, a third dimension lurked in the background, seldom mentioned. Some lawmakers wondered whether civilian faculty might provide cadets with a deeper respect for civilian authority. The issue erupted again in 1992.
The 1992 Defense Authorization Bill, signed in December 1991, authorized the Secretary of the Air Force to employ civilian faculty members at the Academy and required a plan, by April 1, 1993, for the increase of civilian faculty members and the decrease of permanent military faculty. This time the issue was not debatable. The action originated in the Senate Armed Services Committee at the behest of Senator Sam Nunn. The Secretary of the Air Force responded to Senator Nunn by letter on September 18, 1992, confirming that the Academy would move toward a goal of 50 percent civilian faculty as quickly as possible. This initiative was one of five actions proposed by Senator Nunn changing the character of the Air Force Academy: to civilianize the faculty, to convert the Dean of the Faculty position to a civilian, to reassign the Academy’s T-41 flight screening program to Air Training Command, to reassign the Academy Band to Air Force Space Command, and to award reserve commissions (rather than regular commissions) to Academy graduates. This last measure was a provision requiring all officers commissioned after September 30, 1996, to enter the service with a reserve commission. Since the first class graduated in 1959, Academy graduates had earned regular commissions. By comparison, AFROTC graduates were given reserve commissions and only offered a regular status after some time on active duty. The effect of the legislation was to place all newly commissioned officers on an equal footing at a time when there were vastly constricted opportunities for pilot training. The immediate reaction by the Academy was very negative, but the change to reserve commissions was effective with the Academy Class of 1997.
The Dean formed a working group to develop a program to implement the civilianization effort. Led by Colonel Jim Head, Permanent Professor of Physics, a plan was developed, briefed, and coordinated with Academy leadership, as well as appropriate Air Staff and DoD offices, including Personnel, Manpower, Finance, General Counsel, Legislative Liaison, DoD Military Manpower, and DoD Personnel Policy. The implementation schedule was aggressive. By December 1992 the policies and procedures had been established to permit hiring and paying civilian faculty members under an excepted civil service authority similar to that at Air University and the Air Force Institute of Technology. The Superintendent responded to the AF Chief of Staff in December 1992 with the Academy’s plan: “A Blend of Excellence—Composition of the USAF Academy Faculty.” This plan was accepted by the Chief and Secretary and, when merged with a similar one from West Point, was submitted by OSD to Congress in March 1993.
The Civilian Faculty Plan included the following key implementation milestones:
— Begin immediately with 14 positions advertised for Academic Year 1993–1994
— Expand across all academic departments by the fall of 1994
— Build steadily to about 25 percent civilian by 2000; pause there for assessment
— Grow toward 50 percent if warranted by experience and program needs
— Program numbers include visiting faculty, normally about 5 percent of total
Key features of the personnel policies affecting the civilian faculty:
— Faculty are provided five-year appointments, renewable, without tenure
— First year probation
— Salary established administratively, based on regional civilian faculty rates by academic discipline and academic rank, separate from the civil service salary scales
— Most initial hires are assistant professors with doctoral degrees
— Academic promotion through full professor based on performance
— 12-month contracts, supporting faculty research in summer
— Sabbaticals, full year at half pay or half year at full pay
One of the issues that arose as the program was developed was hiring of retired officers, especially those who had served on the Academy faculty. Colonel Head and his team foresaw that some retired military faculty might find the civilian positions attractive and many would be very well qualified. However, it was understood that the clear intent of Congress was to add bona fide civilians to the faculty, individuals from civilian academia with no or little military background. In briefings to the Air Staff, the issue was resolved in the following manner. Retired military would be considered along with other applicants, and if best qualified they would be hired. However, it was believed the issue would not be of concern if the Academy advertised widely and set most new positions at the assistant professor level. The figure of 30 percent retired military was informally agreed upon as an acceptable level.
The endowed chair is a special symbol of excellence in education. For decades, endowed chairs have enhanced the faculty at many of America’s outstanding academic institutions. The Air Force Academy joins them by means of two endowment programs, both of which have involved Permanent Professors.
The Academy Research and Development Institute (ARDI). ARDI was co-founded in 1984 by Brigadier General Philip J. Erdle, USAF (Ret) (Permanent Professor Emeritus) and Major General William Lyon, USAF (Ret), in consultation with the Honorable Verne Orr, Secretary of the Air Force. ARDI enhances academic excellence at the Academy by establishing and managing endowed chairs. Its goal is to establish an endowed chair in each USAFA academic department. As each endowed chair approaches full funding, it is the subject of an ARDI offer of gift to the Secretary of the Air Force. The Dean of the Faculty nominates distinguished individuals to occupy the endowed chairs each academic year. To date, ARDI has raised more than $20 million, endowing chairs and supporting other academic programs benefiting cadets and enriching the faculty. ARDI fully endows eight chairs, three of which honor Permanent Professors:
The William A. Anders Endowed Chair in the Economics of the Defense Industrial Base. Endowed by a principal gift from the General Dynamics Corporation, the Anders Chair provides a distinguished visiting professorship in the Department of Economics and Geosciences.
The William T. Coleman III and Dr. William E. Richardson Endowed Chair in Computer Sciences. Endowed by principal gifts from Mr. Coleman and retired Permanent Professor Colonel Bill Richardson, members of the USAFA Class of 1971. This chair provides a distinguished visiting professorship in the Department of Computer and Cyber Sciences.
The Holland H. Coors Endowed Chair in Education Technology. Endowed by principal gifts of several foundations of the Coors family of Golden, Colorado, the Coors Chair provides a distinguished visiting professorship in a Dean of Faculty department selected by the Dean of the Faculty each year. During the 2017–2018 academic year, the Coors Chair professorship was in the Department of Aeronautics.
The ARDI Endowed Chair in Arabic Studies. Endowed by a principal gift from the International Education Foundation, this endowed chair provides a distinguished visiting professorship in the Department of Foreign Languages.
The Philip J. Erdle Endowed Chair in Engineering Science. Endowed by principal gifts from Mrs. Carolyn Knies Erdle and the International Education Foundation to honor ARDI’s co-founder, the Erdle Chair provides a distinguished visiting professorship in any one of the several departments of the Engineering Division.
The William Lyon Endowed Chair in Professional Ethics. Endowed by a principal gift from the William Lyon Foundation to honor Major General William Lyon, USAF (Ret), a co-founder and honorary Chairman of ARDI and former chairman of the Falcon Foundation, the Lyon Chair provides a distinguished visiting professorship in the Department of Philosophy. The Lyon Chair also supports the annual Alice McDermott Lecture in Applied Ethics.
The Robert F. McDermott Endowed Chair in Academic Excellence (the “Dean’s Chair”). Endowed by a principal gift from the United Services Automobile Association, USAA. Brigadier General McDermott was USAFA’s first Permanent Professor and its first permanent Dean of the Faculty. Upon retirement he served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of USAA for 25 years. The McDermott Chair helps meet faculty needs as determined by the Dean.
The Bernard A. Schriever Chair in Space Systems Engineering. Endowed by a principal gift from the Emerson Electric Company in honor of General Bernard A. Schriever, USAF (Ret), “architect of the Air Force’s ballistic missile and military space program.” This endowed chair provides a distinguished visiting professorship in the Department of Astronautics.
The United States Air Force Academy Endowment (UE). The UE was founded in 2007 with the intent of becoming the major fund-raiser for the Academy. The UE first sponsored the “Superintendent’s Chair for Character and Leadership Development,” which for 2007–2009 was retired Permanent Professor Lieutenant General Erv Rokke. The UE currently endows three chairs located in the Center for Character and Leadership Development:
The Helen and Arthur Johnson Chair for the Study of the Profession of Arms. Endowed by a gift from the Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation.
The Risner-Perot Military Scholar Chair. Endowed by a gift from the Perot Foundation in honor of Brigadier General James Robinson “Robbie” Risner, USAF (Ret).
The Fox-Rokke Chair in the Profession of Arms. Endowed by a gift from John and Marci Fox in honor of retired Permanent Professor Lieutenant General Ervin J. Rokke.
It is appropriate to mention that there was another chair at the Academy. The Department of Defense sponsored a “Transformation Chair” at each of the academies to help stimulate adoption of best business practices. The USAFA Transformation Chair for 2007–2012 was retired Permanent Professor Rich Hughes.