FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan.—The Army University honored faculty and staff for their academic promotions and professional writing Friday, Aug. 12 in the Eisenhower Auditorium, Lewis and Clark Center. Seventy-seven faculty members received academic promotions and 38 awards for professional writing were given.
Brigadier General David C. Foley, Provost of the Army University and Deputy Commandant of the Command and General Staff College, and Dr. Jack Kem, Chief Academic Officer for Army University and Dean of Academics for CGSC, presented the awards.
Seven faculty members form the Command and General Staff College were promoted to the rank of Associate Professor--Dr. Jonathan Abel, Department of Military History; Dr. Paul Berg, Department of Army Tactics; Dr. Zachery Fry, DMH; Matthew Green, DTAC; Dr. Eric Hollister, Department of Sustainment and Force Management; Dr. Jeremy Maxwell, DMH; and Lt. Col. William Nance, PhD, DMH.
Associate Professor is the second highest academic rank. “Making Associate Professor feels immensely rewarding,” said Nance. “Teaching has become my second profession, with nine of my 20 years in the military committed either to graduate school or teaching. Being promoted shows that the school acknowledges this time and that it believes I am worthy of the rank.”
“Receiving an academic promotion is a recognition of a holistic body of work in your profession. It is satisfying that your supervisors and chain of command take the time to recognize faculty,” added Berg. He recommends new instructors work toward the rank of Assistant Professor that requires additional effort and scholarly work but will pay out in the end either in the military track or civilian track. “The academic promotion means to the organization that you did more than just teach, but published, provided a community service or other events to help the mission of CGSC,” he said.
CGSC saw 47 faculty members elevated to the rank of Assistant Professor. They were: Lt. Col. William C. Baker, DTAC; Lt. Col. Christopher M. Baldwin, DSFM; Lt. Col. David W. Bell, Department of Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Operations; Lt. Col. Lavern T. Burkes, Department of Command and Leadership, DCL; Lt. Col. Mark S. Christiansen, Department of Distance Education, DDE; Lt. Col. Jason C. Coad, DDE; Lt. Col. Jessie R. Collins, DTAC; Lt. Col. Mark A. Davis, DTAC; Lt. Col. Danielle L. Eley, DSFM; Lt. Col. Justin E. Estes, Air Force Element; Lt. Col. Jonathan B. Godwin, DDE; W. Bryan Green, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Brian C. Haynes, Air Force Element; Lt. Col. Patrick M. Henrichs, DSFM; Lt. Col. Shawn R. Herrick, DDE; Dawn L.Hilton, DDE; Lt. Col. Richard E. Hull, DTAC; Lt. Col. Carl P. Johnson, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Kurt S. Knoedler, DTAC; Maj. Ryan T. Leavitt, Air Force, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Albert J. Lee, DSFM; Maj. Jason W. Lopez, DDE; and Lt. Col. Matthew D. Marfongelli, DTAC.
Also promoted to Assistant Professor for CGSC were: Lt. Col. Mark B. McCool, DJIMO; John W. McGrady, DJIMO; Andrew J. Meyers, Dean of Academics Office; William B. Moen, DDE; Lt. Col. Kenneth E. Moran, DTAC; Lt. Col. Paul Mostafa, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Josh Randall, Marine Corps, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Ross T. Scheinbaum, DJIMO; Lt Col John W. Schmidtke, Air Force, DCL; LT. COL. Amelia D. Schroeder, DCL; Lt. Col. Sean R. Skrmetta, DTAC; Lt. Col. Frank X. Sperl, DTAC; Lt. Col. Viki S. Szilagyi, DDE; Lt. Col. Michael C. Thorpe, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Justin L. Ticknor, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Michael Z. Tiongco, DDE; Lt. Col. Jason G. Tullius, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Patrick S. Van Kirk, DSFM; Lt. Col. Damon T. Wagner, DCL; Lt. Col. David M. Ward, DCL; Lt. Col. Gage L. Wientjes, DTAC; Lt. Col. James C.Wiltse, DTAC; Lt. Col. Joseph C. Zabaldano, DSFM; and Paul M. Zeps, Jr., DJIMO.
The U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, Fort Bliss, Texas, saw 15 instructors promoted to Assistant Professor—Sergeants Major Erric D. Allen, Julio C. Armas, Billy J. Atkinson, Rhonda L. Byrd, Cindy D. Lisbon, Randy L. McCoin, Joseph J. Parker, Anthony E. Rink, Aaron L. Stone, Charles L. Wilson, Victor J. Velasco, and civilians Gabriel S. Arnold, Bassam A. Naime, James L. Perdue, and David L. Stewart.
“One of my goals is to one day be a college professor and when it became official that SGM-A would be a campus aligned under the Command and General Staff College, I was overjoyed at the opportunity to seek my academic promotion to Assistant Professor, said Byrd. “Academic promotions show faculty members who represent superior performance by embodying the four domains of faculty development--teaching, scholarship, service and faculty development. It is truly an honor and a sacred accomplishment few have achieved here at the Sergeants Major Academy. And I will continue to seek growth and development as an Assistant Professor.”
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, Fort Benning, GA, had eight faculty members promoted to the academic rank of assistant professor—Capt. Enrique A. Aguirre Giol, Maj. Brian A. King, Capt. Edwin Manuel Feria, Lt. Col. Moacir Mendonca Lima, Joseph I. Nieto, Col. Rodolfo Nunez Fernandez, Lt. Col. Martha A. Plumley, and Maj. Assad A. Raza.
King said one key to success is constantly improving as an instructor. “Immediately following instructor certification, start building your packet for the Basic Army Instructor Badge,” he said. “In a three-year assignment, you can easily achieve both the Basic and Senior Army Instructor Badge. Also, seek opportunities to teach at every turn. I got much better after my first 100 hours on platform.”
The Golden Pen Ceremony provides an opportunity to recognize staff and faculty for their research and scholarship. Publishing is an important aspect of lifelong leader learning. It demonstrates the personal effort involved in research and a desire to collaborate and share new ideas and perspectives.
Mike Bizer, a DCL instructor with the Command and General Staff School Team 30 at Fort Belvoir, VA, said, “Professional writing is important for instructors as it keeps those skills sharp, it shows students that their writing exercises aren’t just academic, and it is the main way to communicate outside of the range of one’s voice.”
Bizer added, “Getting started is the hardest part, so if you pick a subject or passion it will help get over that ‘first step’. Especially at CGSS, there are also plenty of smart people who will help you, reviewing your writing to make it better.”
Receiving Golden Pen Certificates in recognition of books or book-length works were: Dr. Eric M. Burke, Army University Press, co-editor of Enduring Success: Consolidation of Gains in Large-Scale Combat Operations, Army University Press, 2022; Dr. John D. Hosler, DMH, editor, Seven Myths of Military History, Hackett Publishing Company, 2022; Dr. G. Stephen Lauer, School of Advanced Military Studies, Forging the Anvil: Combat Units in the US, British, and German Infantries of World War II, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2022; Dr. Dean A. Nowowiejski (Art of War Scholars), The American Army in Germany, 1918-1923: Success Against the Odds, University Press of Kansas, 2021; and Dr. Barry M. Stentiford, SAMS, Army Expansions: Augmenting the Regular Army During War, Combat Studies Institute Press, 2021.
The Silver Pen Certificate, awarded for significant articles or chapters of a book, went to: Dr. Joseph G. Babb, DMH; Dr. Gates M. Brown, DMH; Michael J. Forsyth, DJIMO; Dr. Mahir J. Ibrahimov, Cultural and Area Studies Office; Lt. Col. Timothy D. Litka, Army University Legal Advisor; Dr. Trent J. Lythgoe, DCL; Dr. Richard A. McConnell, DTAC; Dr. David W. Mills, Stentiford; Dr. Thomas E. Ward II, DSFM; Dr. David T. Culkin, Army Management Staff College; Dr. John M. Curatola, SAMS; Dr. Justin E. Kidd, DDE; and Kenneth A. Turner, DCL.
Bronze Pens are awarded for short articles, encyclopedia entries, book reviews, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, or a body of work. Bronze Pen recipients were: Allen; Brown; Stephen S. Harvey, DJIMO; Lt. Col. Matthew D. Marfongelli, DTAC; McConnell; Terry D. Mobley (Dean of Academics Office), Nowowiejski; Dr. Angela M. Riotto, DMH; Dr. Craig B. Smith, SAMS; Sgt. Maj. Julio C. Armas, SGM-A; Rick Baillergeon, DTAC; Michael J. Bizer, DCL; Dr. Mark T. Calhoun, SAMS; Sgt. Maj. David C. Cox, SGM-A; Curatola; Dr. Derek R. Mallett, DMH; Dr. John H. Modinger, DJIMO; Dr. Tony R. Mullis, DMH; Sgt. Maj. Robert A. Nelson, SGM-A; and Sgt. Maj. Charles E. Wilson (SGM-A).
Video of the ceremony is available on ArmyU’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ArmyUniversity/videos/1306298546780140/
Photos from the ceremony are available at https://www.facebook.com/ArmyUniversity/photos/a.1646172148955941/3233570116882795/?type=3&av=1632458446993978&eav=AfZNYx4QS7CcYTBtP7nrdtYIJoD3rHWyoI8rCwxZWBZPpYxZdJtFvZ_48v27ZdOclLLmpvJ1hSaOOmIKtT0uP4YL
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