U.S. Coast Guard Academy installs first provost

Amy K. Donahue, Ph.D., has been been installed as the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s first provost. [U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of University of Connecticut]

Prior to the start of its fall semester, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has installed Amy Donahue, Ph.D., as the institution’s first provost. In this position, Donahue will serve as the principal adviser to the superintendent in all matters relating to the academic program and faculty.

Donahue is a graduate of Princeton University (B.A.) and Syracuse University (M.P.A, Ph.D.). She served as an Army officer immediately following graduation from Princeton University, commanding Army soldiers and personnel as the officer-in-charge of a forward surgical team that trained, staffed, and equipped a medical team for global deployment. Her previous public service also includes a temporary appointment to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where she identified opportunities to deploy NASA’s technology to support the efforts of other federal agencies.

Her academic experience includes serving at the University of Connecticut as a professor of public policy and as vice provost for academic operations at the University of Connecticut. In addition, she has served as a technical advisor to the Department of Homeland Security on an array of projects helping to meet the technological needs of emergency responders.

At the Coast Guard Academy, Donahue will replace dean of academics, retired Coast Guard Capt. Kurt Colella, a 1981 graduate of the academy. While at the academy, Colella taught 26 different courses within four different departments and served as chief of the naval architecture and marine engineering section from 1997 to 2006. when he was selected to be the academy’s dean of academics.

Colella has been integral to the development of the academy as an intellectual resource for the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security and beyond. Since his selection as dean, the academy has developed centers of excellence, revised the core curriculum, implemented the cyber systems major, and deepened both governmental and non-governmental partnerships.

In recognition of his contributions to the academy, Colella received the DHS Distinguished Service Medal upon retirement.

“We are forever grateful for the lifetime of service that Dean Colella has dedicated to both the Coast Guard and its academy,” said Rear Adm. Bill Kelly, superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy. “Provost Donahue brings a wealth of leadership and academic experience to the academy and we look forward to her leadership, passion and dedication as we continue to move forward together.”