Rear Admiral Sandra L. Stosz was installed as the 40th Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on June 3, 2011, and is the first female leader of any the nation’s five federal service academies.
Rear Admiral Stosz served 12 years at sea and commanded two cutters that executed many of the Coast Guard’s 11 missions such as search and rescue, domestic icebreaking and law enforcement. She previously served as Director of Reserve and Leadership and as Commanding Officer of the service’s recruit training center in Cape May, New Jersey.
Stosz credits her participation in sports with her success throughout life. She entered high school in 1974, just two years after Title IX. She was active in high school sports as a member of the varsity basketball team and co-captain of the track team. In 1977 she won the state championship in the discus throw.
She was also a Junior Olympic swimmer, and was technically a member of the men’s swim team at the Academy, before they had a women’s team. The first female graduate of the Academy to make Admiral, and a member of the third class with women, she graduated in 1982 with a BS degree in Government. She also earned a MBA from Northwestern University’s J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1994 and a Masters in National Security Strategy from the National War College in 2005.
