Welcome back from your Thanksgiving break. I know everyone is hard at work preparing for finals. This is certainly a very important time to make every minute count for academics. By the time you read this column, I will have already met with the Corps of Cadets and our civilian students concerning the Commandant and Vice President of Student Affairs position. We will undertake a national search, and I will establish a Search Committee. I have asked the Regimental Commander to nominate two cadets, one junior and one senior, and I have asked the civilian student leadership to do the same. These four students will serve on the Search Committee along with members from our faculty and staff. The charge of the Search Committee will be to present to me three names of fully qualified candidates. We will then host the selected individuals on campus, and we will schedule open meeting times for any student or interested person from the University community who wish to meet with the candidates.

I will be serving as the Commandant and Vice President of Student Affairs for the foreseeable future. I have appointed LTC Michael Abraham as the Acting Deputy Commandant. LTC Abraham will have the day-to-day responsibility of mentoring the Corps of Cadets cadre in leading the regiment. Dean Mathis will have the same responsibility for all of our civilian students. Other direct reports for the Commandant and Vice President of Student Affairs include Tony Mariano, our Athletic Director; Dr. Mel Miller, head of Counseling; and Major Helen Bryan, the Administrative Officer. I have asked Colonel Braman to serve as a Special Assistant to the President for the Leader Development Program. We will be taking portions of the spring semester to work on that and on training issues for the freshmen and sophomores.

I have also asked the Regimental Commander and the civilian student leadership to organize a small study team to completely review Norwich University's judicial system and to make recommendations for change to me by no later than March 15, 2003. That will allow me the balance of the spring term to process and consider those suggested changes and to put into place the changes that will be necessary for next year.

I am making an immediate decision to return the appellate authority to the President or his designee. While I serve as the Commandant and Vice President of Student Affairs, I will not be the appellate officer, but will designate either Dave Whaley, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, NU Class of '76, or Phil Susmann, Vice President for Technology and Strategic Partnerships, NU Class of '81, as my designated appellate officers. Once a new Commandant is hired, the President will again be the appellate officer for student judicial punishments. I believe this will provide the Commandant the latitude and flexibility to authorize room searches, give advice to the staff on investigations, and not be in a perceived compromised position as it relates to also being the appellate officer.

Effective immediately, therefore, any cases that involved suspension or dismissal will have my designee of either Mr. Whaley or Mr. Susmann as the appellate officer.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. I look forward to your return in January.

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