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Social Sciences Department moves to Mahan Hall during ‘Farewell to Lincoln Hall’ event

By Eric Bartelt Pointer View Managing EditorAugust 18, 2023

As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
1 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
2 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
3 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
4 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
5 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
6 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
7 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
8 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
9 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
10 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
11 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
12 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
13 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
14 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
15 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
16 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
17 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
18 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
19 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
20 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
21 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
22 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
23 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
24 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
25 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL
As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the...
26 / 26 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall. To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled, “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall. (Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) (Photo Credit: Photo by Eric S. Bartelt/PV) VIEW ORIGINAL

As the new academic year begins this week at the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) is quickly assimilating to its new office space in Mahan Hall after spending the past 34 years in Lincoln Hall.

To commemorate the moment, SOSH celebrated its past, present and future with a part solemn and part jovial event titled “Farewell to Lincoln Hall” on Aug. 11 at West Point to mark its history at Lincoln Hall and to hail the “Lincoln Brigade’s” new four floors worth of space in Mahan Hall.

The event kicked off with speeches from current SOSH Department Head, Col. Suzanne Nielsen; current SOSH Deputy Head, Col. Heidi Demarest; and former SOSH Department Heads, retired Brig. Gens. Russ Howard (2000-05), Mike Meese (2005-13) and Cindy Jebb (2013-16). After the speeches, they began a New Orleans-style second-line jaunt, a traditional parade of music and dance to engage the community, from Lincoln Hall across the Doubleday parking lot to the other side of the baseball field on the walkway along The Plain.

Col. Carl Wojtasek, the director of SOSH’s Economics program, brought his vintage World War II-era jeep as it was awaiting the marching group with music speakers that first played somber music and then moved into more upbeat rhythms to promote dancing and fun as they moved through Central Area along Thayer Walk to the welcoming crew of Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) and Department of Systems Engineering (SE) faculty at SOSH’s new shared home with the engineering departments at Mahan Hall.

The event began on the lawn outside of Lincoln Hall, home of the SOSH Department from 1989 to 2023, as Demarest welcomed the former department heads, program directors, executive officers, personnel officers and current SOSH staff and faculty, and asked them, “to exchange your favorite memories of what has transpired in Lincoln Hall over the last three decades and to collect some ideas for how we might build upon our legend and lore in our new home.”

However, before their official move to their new home, Nielsen spoke to the SOSH family about their former building that was named after an important member of the SOSH Department’s history.

“(Lincoln Hall) has always held a special meaning for us because it’s named in honor of our former department head, Brig. Gen. George Arthur ‘Abe’ Lincoln,” Nielsen said of the former SOSH Department head from 1954 to 1969. “(He’s) the leader we’ve long viewed as really being the founder of the modern Department of Social Sciences.”

Nielsen followed up by mentioning Lincoln’s predecessor, Brig. Gen. Herman Beukema, who led the department from 1930 to 1954, and remarked on his longevity and his ability to recruit Lincoln back to West Point.

“Without Beukema’s leadership, Brig. Gen. Lincoln would have likely not been attracted back to West Point, and our whole history would likely be different,” said Nielsen, who added that Lincoln further developed Beukema’s philosophy of running the SOSH Department in the modern age.

In a space that SOSH shared since 1989 with the Department of English and Philosophy, who will be moving into the General Instruction Building (GIB) next to Jefferson Hall Library in October as Lincoln Hall’s renovation will soon begin afterward, it is as much about the people who walk the hallways than the building itself that builds lifelong friendships while making cadets into leaders of character.

“As we leave this space, which has enabled the department to enhance its legacy over the course of the intervening decades … (it) matters only insomuch as it empowers the people and the mission, and Lincoln Hall has done that for all of us,” Nielsen said. “At the end of the day, each of us owns this special affiliation, which we can treasure the rest of our lives, which is our affiliation with the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. However, we are confident that we will be able to continue to thrive in our new space in Mahan Hall.”

Former department head and Dean of the Academic Board, Cindy Jebb, also talked about the relationships that came from working in the department. Specifically, Jebb spoke about a conversation she had recently with George Houghton, who is the father of USMA Class of 2001 graduate and SOSH major, Capt. Andy Houghton, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, and how the family returns to West Point every year in honor of their son.

“What it really emphasizes is the fact they came and celebrated the relationship that Andy had with his professors,” Jebb said. “It gets to the point of what the center of gravity is here in SOSH … those are the relationships that you make with colleagues and that you make with cadets, and they are enduring. Buildings will come and go, but those relationships are enduring.

“What I remember as a cadet was going to SOSH (in Thayer Hall), but whether you are in Lincon Hall or Mahan Hall … 10 years will go by and we’ll be back in Thayer Hall,” said Jebb, a USMA Class of 1982 graduate. “But, again, it’s all about enduring relationships. I’m really excited about the future and appreciate the opportunity to share (my stories).”

After the event was completed, Nielsen gave some final thoughts about reflecting on the “Farewell to Lincoln” event and to everyone who participated, their new tenant mates and those who helped them in the move.

“In the midst of change, the event provided us with an incredible opportunity to celebrate the continuity that matters – the people and the mission,” Nielsen said. “We were grateful for the former department heads and alums, as well as cadets and others from USMA staff and faculty, who came out to help us mark the occasion. In addition to the hardworking project team in my department, I am especially grateful to DPW (Directorate of Public Works) and the Dean’s ABUP (Academic Building Upgrade Program) team for their assistance throughout the process, as well as to our Mahan Hall colleagues for their warm welcome.”

The March to Mahan

Led by Maj. Todd Graham, a SOSH instructor who held a picture of Brig. Gen. Lincoln, and Maj. Eric Kim, the SOSH executive officer who carried the SOSH flag, the procession moved from Lincoln Hall to Mahan Hall. Dr. Rob Person, SOSH associate professor of International Affairs and curriculum director for the International Affairs program, carried an urn that represented ashes – mainly paint chips, ceiling tiles, brick dust – from Lincoln Hall during the march to Mahan Hall.

“The best part of the event was the teamwork involved with organizing and orchestrating the event from past, present and future staff and faculty members,” Kim said. “From the creative theme of a New Orleans funeral to storing the ashes of Lincoln Hall in an urn, the SOSH family bonded on forlorn memories and on hope to a bright future in Mahan Hall.”

Once the procession reached Eisenhower Statue, the somber mood changed to an upbeat vibe where dancing and the waving of yellow handkerchiefs honored the move to Mahan. The SOSH group were greeted with enthusiasm by cadet SOSH majors who lined the Thayer Walkway and then joined the staff and faculty on the journey to Mahan Hall.

“I think the most fun was the stretch down Thayer Walk where everybody was really living it up, and to see how many cadets turned out to sort of cheer us on,” Person said. “It’s kind of like the inverse of the famous SOSH Run, usually it is faculty and cadets cheering on cadets as they run to the SOSH Department, but this time it was the SOSH Department passing through being cheered on by cadets. Many of our SOSH majors came out and then fell in behind the department and sort of took their place in the line and continued on.”

The cadets joining in at the end of the procession is part of that link to the future where one day they will carry on the flag of SOSH and one day be instructors in the department.

“One of my former cadets (Maj. Joseph Speight) actually teaches in CME, and he was in my class the very first semester I taught at West Point,” said Person, who began his 13th year with SOSH on the first day of classes Aug. 14. “Now, he’s a major, he’s an engineer and he was there today to welcome us. That’s the great thing about this place and traditions is that if we do our job right as faculty, and the superintendent mentions this in his annual guidance and brief where he always double underlines the inspire piece – educate, yes, train, yes, but to inspire is the most important.

“If we do our job right and achieve that, then those are the cadets who are inspired to continue their service and to one day come back here and teach and inspire their own cadets,” Person added. “I think that is what really makes this a special place.”

Person said the only melancholy feelings he has of SOSH leaving Lincoln Hall comes from knowing the deep tradition he heard from previous department heads and the association of Brig. Gen. Lincoln, his legacy and the shaping of the modern SOSH Department, which is linked to Lincoln Hall and the department’s nickname of the “Lincoln Brigade.”

“It is a little bittersweet, but I think Brig. Gen. Jebb and others said it best, which is the Lincoln Brigade – what SOSH is – is who we are at the end of the day,” Person said. “It’s not about a building, it’s not about a place, it’s about the extraordinary people – it’s the faculty, it’s the cadets who are a part of the SOSH Department, and that’s the spirit that we’re going to take with us wherever we happen to be located.”

Once the procession reached the steps of Mahan Hall, the SOSH Department was welcomed by the words of CME professor, Led Klosky, who eloquently celebrated the department’s arrival to the hallowed halls of Mahan to join the engineering departments.

“The study of social sciences stands as a beacon of enlightenment illuminating the intricacies of human society, behavior and interaction,” Klosky said. “In recognition of this, we raise our voices in celebration. We warmly extend our hand to the scholars, educators and students who shall now call Mahan Hall their intellectual home. We herald a new era of understanding and progress.”

Before the end of the ceremony, SOSH recognized many who helped in the move to Mahan Hall over the past five years including awards presented to Capt. Michael Simms (Army Achievement Medal) as the unit movement officer; Keri Stack (Civilian Achievement Medal), who was the contract representative on the furniture contract; Maj. Alex Thew (Army Commendation Medal), who was the department’s technology officer; and Person (Civilian Service Commendation Medal) as he was the lead project coordinator of the move from Lincoln to Mahan.

Nielsen made one last poignant comment to the gathered attendees before they dispersed to the farewell march post-party and to their new accommodations.

“One of the beauties of the Department of Social Sciences is the breadth, the depth and the diversity of its talent,” she said. “I couldn’t be more humble and grateful for all the contributions by everyone to make this move a success.”

The Work Toward the Finish Line

During Nielsen's speech, she glowingly credited Person as the one person in the SOSH Department who could have taken on the task of moving their “unruly group” while designing and reimagining a space where SOSH “could not just survive but thrive over the next decade.”

“He’s devoted countless hours, over multiple years to ensuring our success and he never lost sight of our basic mission despite many obstacles and challenges,” Nielsen said of Person. But then she jokingly added, “I am sure this experience will only make his input to the Thayer Hall design charrette in about a decade all the more valuable.”

As Maj. Kim said the move to Mahan set the conditions to think critically about the Dean of the Academic Board’s theme of “Innovation, Technology and the Future of National Defense.” The move now takes them firmly into the 21st century, where Kim added, “The new physical spaces and blank walls provide a foundation upon which innovation can thrive, which is critical to the department’s future success in educating and inspiring cadets and motivating innovative research.”

But the road to a new innovative world began earnestly more than five years ago with the notification of SOSH’s move from Lincoln Hall due to the future renovation project within the Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves’ ABUP program. For Person, as the lead, it all began in January 2018, and it all started with a lot of moving parts and much uncertainty of where SOSH would go. There was talk about moving to a temporary facility like the Department of English and Philosophy, and then through several iterations of designs and test fits, however, about two years ago, “It became clear that for the amount of square footage that we needed because we are a very large department of about 105 staff, faculty and support personnel … it was clear that we were not going to fit into the temporary structure, so that is when the plan shifted to move us here to Mahan Hall, and, ultimately, transform four floors of classrooms into long-term office space,” Person said.

As the commitment to move to Mahan Hall came about, Person worked closely with Klosky, who is the Reeves’s executive agent for design and construction, and a man who supervised and coordinated the entire ABUP program.

“He’s the one who oversees the big picture of all the moving pieces and building upgrades,” Person said of Klosky. “(The ABUP) is the 30-year program to eventually renovate, rebuild and revitalize all of West Point’s academic buildings. Under the broad program, this section of Mahan Hall was always going to be used as swing space for some departments or some entity as they are shifting around.”

The parts of Mahan Hall they are now occupying was classroom space, and the main effort for the past couple of years has been transforming that space into office space, not just functional space but a pleasant place to work with new walls, flooring, paint and blank fixtures.

So now SOSH occupies the first, second, B and C levels of Mahan Hall, with the office space split by A level, which is still classrooms. Now, all 105 personnel in the SOSH Department have a desk, while some have their own room with a view of the Hudson River, others share room space with cubicles, depending on seniority and duties within the department.

“Our footprint here is around 19,500-square feet. Our space in Lincoln was about 18,000-square feet,” Person said. “One of the real benefits of this process is … there are some things that we’ve been able to do here because we were designing it from scratch to create some new spaces that we’ve never had before in Lincoln Hall, so that’s kind of been a fun and exciting part of the project.”

Person credited DPW’s interior designers Kat Zahradnikova and Nic Servedio for their foresight in the design concepts and execution of the construction of the SOSH floor space. The construction, besides reconfiguring classrooms to office space, included IT infrastructure changes and updating network ports and phone lines that were operable.

As the project coordinator, Person saw his duties on that front ramping up this summer as he found himself walking back and forth from Lincoln to Mahan about three to four times a day to check on things or if the contractor needed an answer to something.

“At that point, I said listen, I just need to get over there,” Person said. “Once I was here, I just like to set up and get settled to sort of feel productive.”

That has been the rub for Person for the past five-plus years, maintaining the pulse on the move to Mahan and all the variables involved in it, while still concentrating on his main job in international affairs.

“Now that we are here and it’s sort of settling in, I’m hoping that I have a little bit more time to do some of the stuff like my own scholarship research and writing that I’ve had to put on the back burner,” Person said. “But, throughout all of it, and this is true of everyone at West Point, teaching is our No. 1 mission and that’s the ball that everyone knows, and it can’t be dropped, so I think everybody has held that as No. 1 priority but still figured out how to get this whole project done as well.”

When SOSH moved to Lincoln Hall in 1989, it moved into a building whose original purpose was as bachelor officer’s quarters. This time, as Person explained, SOSH had the luxury to design their own workspace, which was classrooms, as opposed to the contrasts of moving into Lincoln, which was designed to be living quarters for single officers.

But the long-term outlook is to assume that space in Mahan Hall for the next 10 years until an eventual move back to Thayer Hall, where SOSH resided pre-1989.

“In 10 years, we will return to the completely renovated, brand new Thayer Hall,” Person said. “We will be in this space for 10 years and then we will shift back into Thayer Hall, and we will come full circle.”

Until that day comes, SOSH’s new workspace now offers many accommodations including huddle space in entry areas of offices where faculty can meet with cadets or colleagues can meet up to work on a project.

“That’s the kind of collaborative small group meeting spaces that we never had at Lincoln Hall,” Person said. “It was always sort of you were looking if there was a free classroom that you could grab to do those meetings or maybe you would meet at Grant Hall. This is a great example of how this new space allows us to do our core function of educating cadets and collaborating with cadets and colleagues a whole lot better than we’ve been able to do.”

The other big positive is now the synergy that can be made between departments that never shared space together in the modern era of West Point.

“Now that we are sharing space with engineering departments, we normally don’t think of social science, political scientists, economists and what they have to do with engineers, mechanical engineers, civil engineers, system engineers, but I think as we live together, work together and start to have those hallway conversations, I think we’re going to see a lot of really interesting synergies and opportunities to bring our different disciplinary perspectives of common problems of interest to the Army and the nation,” Person said. “I’ve worked closely with Led Klosky on this building project. As we’ve talked and had lunches together … he’s a highly regarded civil engineer and I work on Russian-Ukrainian security, foreign policy and military affairs, so now we’re brainstorming a co-authored article that we want to write on some of the infrastructure in Crimea and other occupied parts of Ukraine, and bringing both my political, military expertise and how that infrastructure is part of Russia’s war effort but also Led’s engineering expertise of what are the vulnerabilities.

“For example, the Crimean Bridge that Russia built to Crimea is incredibly, strategically important for Russia’s war effort as that is how they’re supplying pretty much all of their forces in southern Ukraine is across the bridge,” he added. “It’s also by the geology of where it was built and how it was built and the engineering, but it is also a very vulnerable as a military target.

“So here is an interesting nexus between the military strategic angle and the engineering angle, and I’m hopeful that those are the type of conversations and explorations that by putting social scientists and engineers in the same building together will start to see that we have a lot to say to one another and to say to the broader international security conversation about these important things,” Person concluded.

But now that SOSH is settled in, Person said, “Change is always hard … but this is an upgrade and a great foundation for whatever is to come.”

For Person, the theme of the entire five-year process has been “a group effort” to make and complete the move to Mahan Hall on time.

“Nobody in the department has been unaffected and everybody has had to pull on that rope at one time or another,” Person said. “Of course, all the people who were acknowledged today formally did tremendous amounts of work pulling on that rope to get us here. But every single faculty member, staff member in SOSH and beyond SOSH really contributed to completing as Col. Nielsen said, ‘getting this project done on time and on budget,’ which I understand doesn’t happen very often.

“It’s true professionals doing their work, but also being trusted by the chain of command to get it done and to do it well,” he added. “Again, a testament to my extraordinary colleagues for their skill and their professionalism, both in the classroom as faculty or in their other duties if they are administrative staff, or DPW folks, or folks on the Dean’s staff … it was about threading all the needles or getting all the Tetris pieces to click together just the right way, and I think there were a lot of people who were skeptical that we would get it done.

“But, in the end, there are so many people who made this happen,” Person concluded. “Each of whose contribution, no matter how large or small, was nonetheless indispensable in making this a successful outcome.”