Act 1: A Chair of a Program
As I returned to West Point, I learned several things:
- An academy professor position had opened in the department. This is the Army equivalent of tenure. If selected, I would spend the remainder of my time in the Army at West Point and my branch would change from Signal Corps (25) to Academy Professor (47D) – one of the smallest branches in the Army. These positions are very competitive with 30-50 highly qualified applicants.
- I was assigned as the information technology program director with responsibility for the IT program including the West Point core class, CS105 Introduction to Programming.
- West Point had started a once a decade review of the core curriculum and had decided to add a second information technology program to the core curriculum, CS305. Thus, my team and I would have to build the course from scratch.
Academy Professor
The competition for the Academy Professor position was fierce due to the high quality of the applicants. Many of the applicants were more experienced and outranked me. I was certain of this as many of them were my friends, colleagues, and people I admired. It was pretty high stress as evidenced by a highly qualified applicant who walked into the closet as opposed to the exit door as he exited an interview. Just as in civilian academia, tenure is life changing. In the end, I was fortunate to be selected as a young Academy Professor. Implicit with the selection, I was promoted to Associate Professor in a similar manner to civilian universities. I had the equivalent of military tenure at West Point. What was I going to do with it? As time would tell, a lot.
Information Technology Program
Being assigned as the program director for the information technology program was awesome. I got the a core course, several interesting electives, and about half of the computer science faculty would work for me. The eight-week New Faculty Development Workshop would be my responsibility so I could influence the teaching approach in the department. Finally, there is something special about teaching the first programming class to every student attending West Point. After listening intently and acting intentionally over the course of the first semester, the team and I started to make changes and learn.
One of the more interesting research projects was exploring student perspectives and experiences learning their first programming language. Like many other programs at this time, we were using Java as the first language. It is an objected-oriented language which requires somewhat advanced understanding (eg streams and pipes) to do simple things like print. We saw a lot of syntax errors and student befuddlement on the resulting error messages that the compiler generated. From the student perspective the error message read:
Error 8: Missing semicolon somewhere in the world. Figure it out.
Cadet perspective of common Java compiler errors
To exacerbate the situation, this is West Point and the introduction to programming class was tough. The final project was programming a real robot with real sensors to navigate and maze. This is a very difficult task for even experienced programmers as you have to deal with a lot of uncertainty and maintain state information. Your code had to be efficient. My novice programmers had to write a 300 line program to effectively control their robots which was daunting.
Experienced professors knew (or thought they did) where the students would experience difficulty and would focus on those areas. We tried sharing that wealth of knowledge with the new faculty and generated a top 10 list of cadet programming errors but that did not work. We were missing something.
At this point, Rusl Flowers, Jim Jackson and I did something unusual. Rusl wrote a Java compiler specifically for teaching CS105 with more informative and hand-crafted error messages (some of which were pretty sarcastic) to assist cadets in addressing syntax errors. He also built in extensive logging so that we could capture the frequency of programming errors. We learned that the faculty were right about 50% of the time on the areas cadets were having difficulty. Having real data to student difficulties in programming assignments was transformative. Crafting error messages for a novice programmer was similarly impactful. We shared what the real top 10 programming errors were and we were about to significantly improve teaching and student success in the course.
One of things I really liked about West Point and the technology program is we developed assessments for all sections of a course jointly and we graded those courses jointly. For final exams, we did not go home until about 550 exams were graded and entered into the student information system. This minimized wide differences between different sections of the same course. Having visited and observed more than fifty universities, this process appears to be quite rare.
The department was able to secure some additional space and the decision was made to move the technology program into the new space. We created a bullpen area for active collaboration and mentorship of the junior faculty who worked in the information technology program.
Another cultural aspect of teaching at West Point that I really liked was the formal coordination between a course director and its prerequisite courses directors. This minimized assumptions about what was being taught in supporting classes and built bridges between courses so that they were integrated. Related to this, major assignments between all core courses were deconflicted. I will pause for you to climb back into your chair. Yes, West Point deconflicted major assignments so that they were spread over time and the academy did not unintentionally crush cadets.
More than the Information Technology Program
After a couple of years as the information technology program chair, I added the information systems courses to my portfolio. This was a collaboration between between the department of electrical engineering and computer science, department of behavioral science, and the department of systems engineering. Leadership rotated every year between the departments. It expanded my leadership portfolio and exposed me to jointly offered programs. There was a little bit more politics but only a little bit more. Each department saw the information systems major in a different perspective and how it contributed to the parent department. We made modest but positive progress during my year leading the initiative by finding middle ground between computer science and systems engineering. Behavior Sciences was more interested at stability and the status quo.
It would set the stage for me learning an important political lesson. Organizational resistance to change is normal. That resistance to change, however is not uniform across the organization. In military terms, there is go terrain, no go terrain, and slow go terrain. In terms of organizational resistance to change terrain map:
- Go Terrain: Some parts of the organization are ready to innovate and move forward. Work with them.
- Slow Go Terrain: Some parts of the organization are hesitant to innovate but you can move together forward incrementally and should. Work with them if you have capacity. Nudge them towards Go Terrain.
- No Go Terrain: Some parts of the organization are so resistant to innovate that it is not worth the political cost to innovate. Spending political chips on no go terrain is frustrating at best and political suicide at worst.
Of course, different initiatives and projects have different value to the organization. You have to balance the organizational resistance to change terrain map with the strategic value of the initiatives to the organization. That is the calculus of organizational leadership.
Run when you can, walk when you can’t run, ignore the swamp and always move forward.
This perspective has served me well in subsequent leadership positions.
Modifying the Core Curriculum
The core curriculum at most universities is decades old and based on the influence of the Prussian model of education. Given most changes to the core curriculum are win-lose and shift power and revenue at universities, changes to the core curriculum are incredibly rare. Through good luck or bad, I have experienced two core curriculum changes.
West Point reviewed its core curriculum in 2000 and decided to add a new core course in information technology. It was to be IT305 , Advanced Information Systems. I was to build it with a core director I would select. I also needed to build a political consensus on the course across the academy as not everyone was convinced West Point needed a second course in information systems or technology. This would be politically sensitive.
COL Gene Ressler, COL Steve Ressler, COL Gary Krahn provided sage advice on navigating the political landscape and the background on the decision so that core course could be built in alignment with intent. It was to be a course that taught all graduates how network systems work by having the students build a client server architecture. This would be very challenging as this would be a core course where students of all majors take the class. The diversity of the students and difficulty of the course material would provide a real challenge and require exceptional course design leveraging all of the skills that the yet to be determined course director and I possessed.
Not surprisingly, there was significant competition to be the course director for the new core course. There were two really viable candidates and while it was close, I selected MAJ Douglas Wolfe to be the course director.
Doug, Joe Puett, I and the other professors assigned to teach IT305 built the first version of the course. Teaching how to do the client side interaction was straightforward and built upon their previous experiences in the freshman programming class. Teaching the server component was more difficult but manageable by non majors. Teaching the database component was the most difficult part. We scaffolded this learning because ultimately, we did not care if they could program. We wanted them to be able to critically think and understand the implications of building a network based system. While successful, no course is static and empowered through student feedback, we continued to improve the course.
It is interesting to revisit the Military Academy twenty years after the introduction of a second core course in information technology. There are still two core courses in information technology but they focus now on cybersecurity. It seems appropriate given the current cybersecurity environment and demonstrates that the United States Military Academy continues to evolve its core curriculum to meet the needs of future military officers.
Act 2: A CIO of an Academic
After an additional year as the Information Technology and Information Systems Program Chair, COL Don Welch announced his retirement and the role academic associate dean for information technology would become available. The position reported to Brigadier General Dan Kaufman, the Dean of the Academic Board.
At this time, there were three chief information officers at West Point and they all worked independently of each other:
- Chief Information Officer, G6: The G6 reported to the Superintendent (university president), had a staff of 12, and a budget of about $1 million. His or her responsibility was to set technology policy for West Point.
- Director of Information Management (DOIM): Every Army installation has a DOIM and they provide standard technology services for every installation. Of course, the technology needs of a national university like West Point far exceeded what a standard DOIM could provide.
- Associate Dean for Information Technology: The Associate Dean handled the needs of West Point beyond a standard military installation. With a budget of about $40 million and a large staff, the Associate Dean provided all the services and technical leadership the faculty, students, and staff needed to run West Point.
Just like the Academy Professor position, the competition for the Associate Dean position would be keen. Just like many opportunities in my life, I would be very junior compared to other applicants. For me, it was the best fit for my leadership and talent at West Point. I believe that became apparent throughout the interview process one afternoon, BG Kaufman asked me to his office, conducted a last interview, and offered me the position. I readily accepted and got to work.
The relationship between the G6, DOIM, and Associate Dean was professional and similar to what Rick Howard and I encountered back in the early 1990s. Each organization did their own thing. I worked to build relationships with LTC Bill Philbrick and the G6 and at the end of the day, we all three became friends and allies in advancing the Military Academy. There are several vignettes from my time as academic CIO.
Trust, Technology, and Advancing Education
The fabled Goldcoats were one of the organizations reporting to me. They were responsible for helping the cadets and repairing their computer systems. We implemented a system guaranteeing same day repair of cadet computers, a loaner system while it was being repaired, and a supporting system through which cadets or faculty could check on the status of any repair. While this seems like a customer success engagement, it had an academic cultural impact. The faculty came to trust that the students would always have an operational computer and changed their courses to take advantage of the computers. Over the next couple of years, a number of final exams moved to using computers as a component of the assessment because the professors could trust that every single student would have an operational computer.
Active Phishing Training
Like other organizations, West Point struggled with phishing attacks. We tried several different approaches to address all of which failed. In desperation, Aaron Ferguson, Ron Dodge and I built a system to do active phishing training. We published the first paper in the world on the approach and had we been smart, we would have patented the approach. It was a very effective approach at West Point.
Raising Funds
About a third of my budget came from harvesting unused funds about to expire Armywide. We starting building contracting vehicles 2 months ahead of the end of the fiscal year all of which could be executed almost instantaneously. With a governmental spending model of spend it or lose it, we were the Army’s preferred account within 72 hours of the end of the fiscal year and received 10s of millions of dollars every year because we built a reputation for preparing and executing flawlessly.
It was also during this time that I started visiting the Pentagon to attempt to convince the budget managers and technocrats that my annual budget was too low. I was successful and had our budget doubled. I was not aware of it at the time, but I seem to have a knack for
Computers R Us
My unit handled issuing 1,100 computers to the incoming freshman in one day. This was typically done in one or more sally ports in the barracks area with several semitrucks trailers full of new computers. All of the computers had to be operational by the end of the day. This computer purchase was fiercely competed for by IBM and Dell. While competitive, Dell won every year I was academic CIO. Both companies confided that they were willing to take a loss to win this contract.
Towards the end of my time as academic CIO, I became eligible for promotion to Colonel. Because I was an academy professor I knew the five folks eligible and knew there was only one Colonel promotion that year. I was not the most senior as it was my first look. I was again fortunate and was selected for my last promotion to Colonel. I was thrilled to have BG Pat Finnigan, the Dean of the Academic Board, as the promoting officer.
Act 3: A Vice of a Dean
When BG Kaufman retired in 2006, both of his Vice Deans (COLS Barney Forsythe and Stas Preczewski) decided to retire as well. Both had been strong supporters and both encouraged me to apply to be the Vice Dean for Education. In a civilian university, this would be the equivalent of a Senior Associate Provost. The Vice Dean for Education was a Professor, United States Military Academy position (PUSA) or in Army vernacular, a 47A position. There were subtle differences between a PUSA and my position as a 47D. The 23 PUSA positions are established by congressional law, serve until age 65 (normal Army retirement rules do not apply), have some autonomy from the regular Army, and at their retirement ceremony, are promoted to Brigadier General. I applied, competed for the position, and was one of the three finalists. My longtime friend, Dan Ragsdale, was selected as the Vice Dean for Education.
After the announcement, BG Pat Finnegan asked me to his office and offered me the position of Vice Dean for Resources, responsible for human resources, finance, facilities, information technology, and research for the academic program. I foolishly told him no. He reminded me that he was a general officer and normally the word Sir is in any response. I added the word sir and reminded him I could retire at any time. He said his wife Joan would talk with me and she did and I agreed to serve until BG Finnegan retired in 2010. I did serve until May 2010 and BG Finnegan retired in June 2010. In retrospect, it was a great assignment and I am forever indebted to BG Finnegan for believing in me for a strategic leadership position at West Point.
Jefferson Hall
West Point decided to build a new library in the early 2000s and my predecessor Stas Preczewshi had procured the majority of the money for Jefferson Hall. That funding was subject to annual review and there was $12 million in margin of excellence funding still needed to enhance the building that the Army would not fund. Thus, I spent a bit of time working with Todd Browne to raise the $12 million and give tours to folks who were interested in either giving West Point money or reallocating the $72 million to their pet project somewhere else in the Army. A couple of interesting stories from this project:
- The Superintendent, LTG Buster Hagenbeck and Dean BG Finnegan, worked tirelessly the scenes to secure and protect the funding from Pentagon bureaucrats and other senior Army commanders who wanted the money for their base. In a meeting between all the three and four-star meetings in the room,