History of United States Military Academy - Coeducation To Present Day

Coeducation To Present Day

West Point first accepted women as cadets in 1976, when Congress authorized the admission of women to all of the federal service academies. Women comprise about 15 percent of entering plebes (freshmen); and they pursue the same academic and professional training as do their male classmates, except with different physical aptitude standards on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) and the Indoor Obstacle Course Test (IOCT). In addition, women at West Point do not take boxing during Plebe year physical education (as do the men), but they instead take "self defense," which is loosely based upon the Army's close-quarters combat/martial arts training. The first class with female cadets graduated in 1980. In 1989, Kristen Baker became the first female First Captain at West Point. To date three females have been appointed as the First Captain: Kristen Baker in 1989, Grace H. Chung in 2004, and Stephanie Hightower in 2006. In 1995, Rebecca Marier became the academy's first female valedictorian. The first female West Point alumna to attain flag (general officer) rank was Rebecca Halstead, class of 1981. She was promoted to Brigadier General in 2005 and served as the Army's Chief of Ordnance before retiring in 2008. Vincent Brooks became the first African-American First Captain in 1980. In 1985, cadets' number of authorized electives rose from 8 to 10 and they were allowed to declare a Major, as all previous graduates had been awarded a Bachelor of Science with no major concentration. Because of the still-heavy emphasis upon math and science in all cadets' core course load, all cadets are still granted a Bachelor of Science upon graduation, even those who major in a Liberal Arts field of study. 1990 saw a major revision of the "Fourth Class System", as the Cadet Leader Development System (CLDS) became the guidance for the development of all four classes. Despite its reputation for resisting change, West Point was an early adopter of the use of the internet, authorizing full access to all cadets free of charge in their barracks room in 1996. Today, the Academy has received numerous awards for its high level of use of the internet to conduct daily activities. From 1990 to 1994 West Point granted a total of 59 master's degrees as part of the Eisenhower Scholar Program for new tactical officers. This is the only time in history a U.S. service academy has granted graduate level diplomas. This program still exists, but has since been restructured so that the degrees are granted on behalf Columbia University, and not West Point.