Virginia "Ginny" Caine Tonneson was one of the first six women appointed to the United States Air Force Academy, which she attended from 1976 to 1980. As a cadet, she was named to the Dean's, Commandant's, and Superintendent's lists. In 1997, she was part of the relay team that holds the distinction of becoming the first USAFA All-Americans. As captain of the swim team, she was named All-American three additional times and received the inaugural Outstanding Achievement Award at graduation.
After graduation she served as a joint specialty intelligence officer from 1980-2000. While stationed at USAFA as an Air Officer Commanding (AOC) and Deputy Group AOC, she won the O'Malley Award (outstanding AOC) and the 34th Training Group Officer of the Year Award. In addition, her squadron won the Superintendent's Award as the top military and academic squadron. After retirement, she became the Association of Graduates (AOG) Stewardship Director and Director of Class Giving. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership from the College of William and Mary, and has authored and co-authored two books. She served as a USAFA Parents' Club president, USAFA Admissions Liaison Officer, Falcon Heritage Forum speaker, and as the 1980 Cadet Squadron-25 representative. She also served as the AOG Board of Directors Secretary and was a member of the Single CEO Selection Task Force.
This collection provides insight into what it was like to be in the first class of women cadets at the United States Air Force Academy, as well as the entire cadet experience from pre-candidate qualification through graduation. The collection consists of ten boxes divided into fifteen series and includes, manuals, documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, plus a wide variety of additional ephemera. Uniforms were also included in the original donation, which are under the care and supervision of the Academy's History Department.
