On June 24, Cindy Jebb was promoted to brigadier general and officially confirmed as the new Dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy. Jebb, an 11-year resident of Cornwall before moving to West Point, is the 14th person to hold the position and the first female to do so. President Barack Obama nominated her for the position, making the announcement in May.
“I feel so honored to have this opportunity,” Jebb said last week during a meeting with a small contingent of journalists. “I feel humbled when I see the great people who came before me. I have this opportunity to build upon their legacies. There’s almost no words to express how honored I am to be here to serve and work with these phenomenal staff, faculty, and cadets. There’s a lot at stake going forward so it means we have to continually advance. There’s no room for complacency. That’s what motivates and inspires us. We’re here for a common purpose.”
Jebb wasn’t born to a military family, but she was drawn to the Army after reading articles, in “Women’s Sports,” about West Point’s women’s basketball team, the Sugar Smacks.
“That’s what hooked me to West Point,” said Jebb.
When she broke the news to her parents they were a bit apprehensive and a little surprised, but supportive at the same time.
“They brought me up to believe if I work hard, I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.”
Jebb entered the academy as a member of the class of 1982 along with 126 other female cadets. She was one of 64 to graduate.
It was at the academy Jebb met Joel, her future husband. Both served in the First Armored Division in Germany and III Corps at Fort Hood in Texas. When the couple returned to West Point, Jebb began teaching International Relations and Comparative Politics in the Department of Social Sciences while Joel taught philosophy in the English Department.
Jebb continued her education, receiving a Master of Arts in Political Science and a Ph.D in Political Science, both from Duke University, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.
In 1998, she became senior faculty member at West Point as director of comparative politics. She became deputy of the Department of Social Sciences seven years later and in 2013 became the head of the department.
While focusing on their careers, the Jebbs also had three children – Ben, Alex, and Olivia. While living in Cornwall, the three got a taste of the military life and saw the cadets as great role models.
Ben attended West Point and graduated three years ago. He’s now an infantry officer at Fort Lewis. Alex went to Johns Hopkins and now works for Accenture. Olivia graduated from William and Mary majoring in neuroscience. She’ll be applying to medical school in the spring.
As Dean of the Academic Board, Jebb’s responsibilities encompass overseeing the academic program and working with 500 faculty and staff members, as well as 4,400 cadets. She charges department heads with developing the curriculum within their disciplines, but it’s up to Jebb to provide the time and spacing resources necessary to allow the department heads to do their work.
“We have academic program goals which the department heads contribute to through their curriculum. We want cadets who are able to not just solve problems but anticipate new kinds of problems, know what problems not to solve, and feel comfortable working in diverse teams. This is what they’re going to do out in the Army – be challenged with those kinds of issues and concerns.”
As the first female to hold her position, Jebb said she’s grateful for those who came before her, like Major Cathy Kelly, the academy’s first permanent associate professor in the Department of Geography and Computer Science. Jebb is quick to note it’s the efforts of both men and women that makes the academy the inclusive institution it is today. The Army recently lifted the combat exclusion policy. There are female rangers and the academy has a female commandant.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about serving,” Jebb said. “It’s about the work to advance the institution. What all this shows is the army uses talent as a discriminator not race or gender.”
