DENVER—An Air Force-commissioned study of the mix of military and civilian faculty members at the Air Force Academy is not related to allegations that the school provided misleading information to an accreditation group, officials said.
Air Force Assistant Secretary Daniel B. Ginsberg requested the Rand Corp. report on the civilian-military mix, Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Mary Danner-Jones said Thursday in an email to The Associated Press.
Ginsberg requested the study “to ensure Air Force policies resulted in the academy having the right instructors at the right time in the right place,” Danner-Jones said.
The study began last year and likely won’t be released for two months, Danner-Jones said.
Danner-Jones said the review is unrelated to an investigation by the Air Force inspector general into complaints that the academy’s dean and vice dean of faculty provided incorrect information about faculty credentials to the Higher Education Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits colleges and universities.
The vice dean was accused of making “a false official statement” and the dean was accused of “inaccurately portraying” faculty credentials, according to an Air Force document. The document did not say whether they were accused of doing so deliberately.
Air Force officials have declined to comment on the probe. The investigation came to light in September.
A person with knowledge of the Rand Corp. study told the AP that Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, the academy superintendent, and other senior leaders at the school have been briefed on Rand’s preliminary findings. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the study hasn’t been released.
Lt. Col. John Bryan, a spokesman for the academy, said he could not comment on the study.
The academy has between 560 and 600 faculty members. About 75 percent are military and the rest civilian, according to the most recent numbers available online. Enrollment was about 4,400 last year.
The academy was re-accredited by the North Central Association in 2009 and is not due for another review until the 2018-19 academic year.
