Ann E. Dunwoody, the first female four-star general in U.S. military history and a 1988 graduate of Florida Institute of Technology’s Fort Lee, Virginia, site, has been named to the university’s Board of Trustees. (FIT Image)
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Ann E. Dunwoody, the first female four-star general in U.S. military history and a 1988 graduate of Florida Institute of Technology’s Fort Lee, Virginia, site, has been named to the university’s Board of Trustees.
Dunwoody earned her master’s degree in logistics management through the Florida Tech off-site program, focusing on an area that would become a major part of her groundbreaking U.S. Army career.
She is credited with leading the transformation of the Army’s logistics organizations, which she oversaw as commanding general of the Army Materiel Command. One of the largest commands in the Army, it had more than 69,000 employees, a $60 billion budget and a presence in all 50 states and 145 countries.
Dunwoody’s military career is filled with “firsts.” She was the first woman to command a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division, and was named Fort Bragg’s first female general officer in 2000.
In 2005, she became the Army’s top-ranking female when she received the promotion to lieutenant general, and then in 2008 became the first woman in military history to achieve the rank of four-star general.
She officially retired after 38 years of service in 2012.
But her quest for excellence and belief in the power of leadership has never flagged.
“Having experienced the exceptional quality of a Florida Tech degree, and I am excited about the opportunity to help ensure and strengthen the excellence that is the hallmark of this university,” she said.
Dunwoody was named the 2014 Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award, Florida Tech’s highest alumni honor. In 2015, she published A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America’s First Female Four-Star General.
Anthony Catanese
“All of the trustees at Florida Tech are leaders, whether in the business world, their communities or elsewhere, and it is our honor and privilege to have as our latest member someone who literally wrote the book on leadership,” said Anthony J. Catanese, Florida Tech’s president and CEO.
“Ann brings valuable life experience and a true appreciation of the power of education to the board.”
