U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The president of the United States has nominated Col. Andrew Armacost to the U.S. Senate for promotion to the rank of brigadier general and to become the next dean of the faculty of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Armacost will assume his new duties and rank later this year.
Armacost moves to the dean's chair from his current position as permanent professor and head of the Department of Management at the Air Force Academy.
"Being selected as the U.S. Air Force Academy's 10th Dean of the Faculty is a tremendous honor," Armacost said. "I am thrilled to lead a great organization consisting of a remarkable faculty and staff, charged with the academic and professional development of nearly 4,000 highly talented young women and men."
As dean of the faculty, Armacost will command the 700-member Dean of Faculty mission partner and oversee the annual design and instruction of more than 500 undergraduate courses for 4,000 cadets in 31 academic disciplines. He will also direct the operation of five support staff agencies and faculty resources involving more than $350 million.
"We are fortunate to attract the nation's top talent at the Academy. Our focus is to offer world-class academic and leadership development that fosters in our cadets critical thinking and a quest for learning that will prepare them to resolve the complex challenges they will face as our nation's leaders," Armacost said.
His educational accomplishments are extensive, beginning with his commission through ROTC after earning his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University in 1989. He went on to earn a masters in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995 as well as his doctorate in operations research from MIT in 2000.
Armacost has also completed his Air Force officer professional military education via the Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. including Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College.
His academic assignments include several positions in the Academy's Department of Management, as an instructor (1995-1997), a professor (2000-2007) and permanent professor and department head (2008-present). Along the way, he has served as course director for several courses, had a strong presence in operations research, authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed scholarly publications and scholarly presentations.
Prior to his role as permanent professor and department head, Armacost's assignments included his role as chief analyst at Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. As an operations research analyst, he has been involved in significant studies for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon; Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va.; Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB, Ill.; and the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB, Texas.
His early career, which began in 1989 at Hanscom AFB, Mass., included his role as program manager for projects with the White House Communications Agency and the Marine Corps Intelligence Center in Quantico, Va..
The current dean of the faculty, Brig. Gen. Dana Born, will retire later this year. She has held her current position since October 2004. After leaving the Academy, Born will head to Massachusetts, where she will serve as a Kennedy School of Government faculty member at Harvard University.
