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Chicago Chapter of the Association of Graduates
Business Report - February 2006
Ladies and
Gentlemen:
I am writing to
give you an update on the business meeting that we held on February 18, 2006, at
the Union League Club. We had about 15 people there to hear Col. Dave Gibson of
the Academy Computer Science Department and Serena Aernie of the AOG make
presentations about the status of the Academy and the AOG projects. Dave gave a
very detailed assessment of the military, academic and athletic environment at
the Academy, focusing mainly on the changes that have been in place since the
agenda for change was enacted in 2003.
He indicated that there are substantial
changes in the Academy training and education programs under way under the new superintendent and, in
fact, things like recognition and more stressful training may be in the works.
He indicated that there would be a formal announcement out of the
superintendent's office regarding the initial phase of these changes as soon as everything was
approved at the chief-of-staff level.
Dave discussed a number of
academic issues, including the advance scholarship preparation programs that
begin selecting cadets for competition (such as the Rhodes and Fulbright
Scholarships) in their junior year, and
providing them with additional academic preparation for the interviews. Dave also gave an overview of the faculty manning
issues that continue as the AF operational pace remains
high.
His athletic discussion focused
mainly on the basketball team, which continues to provide people like me with
severe cognitive dissonance every time I
see them play. In other words, the Falcons are doing extremely well in the
Mountain West Conference and are considered a bubble team for the NCAA
Tournament. For those of you that are interested, the Mountain West Tournament
will be played in Denver starting on March 9 and 10.
Serena Aernie
discussed the AOG capital campaign and provided handouts to everyone with detail
about how the Association proposes to begin funding more cadet programs out of
its budget. You should also know that the Association is soliciting inputs from
its members through the chapter presidents, class scribes and class presidents
to try and get a better grip on what the membership wants it to focus. If
anyone wants a copy of the booklet that Serena provided, please let me know and
I'll scan and e-mail you mine. Basically, the Association is trying to develop
a $100 million endowment that will fund leadership, academic and athletic
programs to upgrade every aspect of the Academy cadet
experience.
Finally, those
of us in attendance got to meet people we had not seen at our previous
meetings. I was hoping for a larger turn out, but travel, previous engagements,
and the weather conspired against us. I will be planning the next event for
some time in the April-through-June timeframe. Any ideas about a locale or
activity to hold in conjunction with the meeting are welcome. One thing I would
like to focus on is putting events or activities with the meeting that would be
of interest to significant others, and not just the grads in the audience. So,
be creative with your ideas.
Thanks again to
everyone who attended the meeting, and dial-up ESPN's Championship Week to catch
the Falcons in action at the tournament.
All the
best,
--
Lou
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