24 Raw emotions energized the moment as an ample number of shared memories synergized the atmosphere in reflecting on a 39-year military career and 43 years since arriving at the U.S. Military Academy. In honoring an exceptional and genuine person and a unique professional experience, the Corps of Cadets bid farewell and celebrated the Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Cindy Jebb with a Corps Farewell Banquet April 15 at the Cadet Mess Hall.
The evening was a retrospect of an expansive legacy that began in 1978 as a member of the third class of women accepted to West Point. Her story expounded on a career that included field research in Africa, working at the National Security Agency, study projects in Afghanistan and Iraq, serving as a senior advisor to the Chief of the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, the head of the Department of Social Sciences to becoming the first female and 14th Dean of the Academic Board at USMA in June 2016.
Jebb, who retires from the Army this summer after 39 years of service, will begin serving as president July 6. She succeeds Peter Mercer, who began his tenure in July 2005 and announced his retirement from the state liberal arts college in September 2019.
Ramapo board of trustees Chair Susan Vallario, who led the school’s 18-month-long search process, was delighted to make the announcement.
“Dr. Jebb brings a wealth of diverse experiences, networks and perspectives to Ramapo College,” she said. “Her passion for the liberal arts, her commitment to inclusion and student success, her longstanding dedication to public service and her infectious and inspiring enthusiasm for Ramapo’s future make her the ideal choice to lead our college through its next chapter.