WPAOG CAMPAIGN NEWSLETTER | SUMMER 2015

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SUMMER 2015 6
Still Revolutionary:
The West Point Corbin Forum
which allows cadets to connect with faculty and staff mentors
and learn about topics directly related to their future careers
as Army officers.
But today’s Corbin Forum is also more than monthly
luncheons and mentorships meetings. In 2014, the Corbin
Forum introduced the Annual Corbin Leadership Summit, a
three-day, cadet-run conference during which students from
other service academies and area ROTC detachments discuss
topics relevant to the future of women in the military and as
leaders. At the 2nd annual summit, held in February, panel
topics included barriers to inclusion, embracing difference,
building and leading diverse teams, and best leader practices.
The Corbin Forum also hosts an annual branch seminar, a
relationships in the military panel, summer internships, and
trips to conferences. “Several cadets had an opportunity to
attend a leadership conference in Boston this year,” McKee
says. “It was a great experience that gave us a platform to
spread our mission and an opportunity to both learn and
network.” The Boston event was sponsored by Friends of the
Corbin Forum, a group of supporters that now includes
alumni, members of the Armed Forces, business and civic
leaders, and members of academia that seek to enrich the
cadet experience.
McKee credits the impact of such experiences to the
generosity of donors. “Support fromdonors allows the Corbin
Forum to have greater flexibility in the programs and services
it offers as a club,” she says. “While our participation is heavily
female—something rare in an 80-percent male Corps—we
make sure our programming is as widely applicable as
possible.” An exciting event that the Corbin Forum recently
sponsored was the USMA visit of Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief
Operating Officer of Facebook, who spoke to some 300
Second Class cadets in Robinson Auditorium on the benefits
of diversity in leadership and addressed three biases in the
gender-leadership gap: competence (“systematically
underestimating female performance”), likability (“power
and likeability need not be antithetical when it comes to
women”), and responsibility (“there needs to be more gender
balance in support roles and in family chores”).
Like its namesake, the Corbin Forum views itself as
progressive and making an impact with both female and male
cadets. And with the lifting of the Combat Exclusion Policy
and the requirement to fully integrate women into the force
next year, it is only a matter of time before West Point adds
more monuments to females on its hallowed grounds, and the
work of the Corbin Forum will have played a role in making
that happen.
Private Funding &DCA
• DCA is one of the most robust extracurricular programs in the country with
140 clubs and forums.
• Donations make up 60% of clubs’ operating budgets.
• Approximately 65% of the Corps, or nearly 3,000 cadets, are DCA club
members with upperclassmen involved in more than one club.
• DCA teams beat Navy and Air Force 60% of the time.
• In Academic Year14–15, there weremore than 1,000 DCA club competitions
and events.
• Last year, 9 clubs received national titles (Triathlon, Men’s and Women’s
Handball, Parachute Team, Fencing, Judo, Orienteering, Pistol, and Chess)
On a Friday night in April an audience of
nearly 200 cadets, faculty and staff, members
of the community, and friends of West Point
gathered in the Haig Room in the Jefferson
Hall Library. More than fifty cadets submitted
work to be judged in the categories of poetry, prose,
studio art, photography, film, and music; many of them then
showcased their artistic talents throughout the evening,
including Cadets MadisonMaguire ’18 and Sally Sittnick ’15,
who sang from the musical Jekyll and Hyde; Cadet Scott
Filbert ’15 debuted his film “Detective Rex”; Cadet Logan
Comer ’18 read an excerpt from his story “Gallery 771”; and a
group of eight cadets performed in a jazz ensemble.
The evening was the first annual John Calabro Night of the
Arts, coordinated through the Department of English &
Philosophy and Cadet Fine Arts Forum. Though this event has
existed for 15 years before, this was the first year it was named
in honor of WPAOG’s former Chief Operating Officer and
professor emeritus of the Department of English, COL (R) John
A. Calabro ’68. The event also marked the first year in which
it is part of the John A. Calabro Music and Arts Program,
established with a gift fromColonel Calabro’s lifelong friend,
Mr. Fred Gretsch and his wife Dinah. The program is part
of the Department’s Academic Enrichment Program.
Mr. Gretsch and The Gretsch Company also provided gifts
of instruments, including guitars, drums, and instruments
to several cadet musical clubs.
“The John A. CalabroMusic and Arts Program is a way to pay
tribute to a dear friend of mine,” says Gretsch. “Not only was
John an instructor in the Department of English&Philosophy,
but he was deeply committed to the arts himself, and I hope
he would be proud to know that his memory will continue to
inspire cadets’ artistic talents and pursuits in perpetuity.”
As part of the John A. Calabro Music and Arts Program,
cadets will use music and the arts to connect with the local
community and help bridge the civil and military divide.
Cadets in the Jazz Forum (one of ten clubs within the overall
Cadet Fine Arts Forum) will work alongside members of the
West Point Jazz Knights and students from the local
elementary, middle, and high schools to play music and
discuss the value of it in our society.
“Music and art transcend ages, ethnicities, cultures, and
backgrounds,” explains Colonel Scott Krawczyk ’85, Head of
the Department of English & Philosophy. “The intent of this
program is to leverage this power to bridge the civil-military
divide, broaden the perspectives of those on either side, and
support the great creative and artistic talent of our cadets.”
The Jazz Ensemble Performance at this year’s John Calabro
Night of the Arts was an example of this program’s work, as
eight cadets joined with musicians from local middle and
high schools and West Point’s own Hellcats to perform.
In addition to performance opportunities, the John A.
Calabro Music and Arts Program supports the Annual John
Calabro Award for Excellence in Leadership and the Arts,
given to a cadet or graduate who demonstrates exceptional
talent in and passion for the arts and is dedicated to a lifetime
of leadership. The first recipient of this award was First
Lieutenant Christopher Shultz Goeke ’08, who was killed in
action on July 13, 2010, in Afghanistan, while serving with
the 82nd Airborne Division.
“Chris was a young man of impeccable character, boundless
good humor, and superior leadership ability,” remarked
Krawczyk. “Moreover, he possessed exceptional creative
talent, vision, and intellectual curiosity.” Krawczyk concluded
by noting, “Chris was a young man who perfectly exemplified
the wonderful virtues we came to know and admire in COL
John Calabro, and he lived a life that inspired us all.”
“I am honored to support an award that recognizes
individuals like Lieutenant Shultz Goeke,” says Gretsch, “and
I know John would be very proud to be associated with such
phenomenal artists and leaders.”
The John A. Calabro Music and Arts Program is a unique
program at West Point that will foster and celebrate cadets’
artistic talents and use music and arts as vehicles to forge new
connections with those outside of Thayer Gate. Moreover, it
will honor the creative pursuits of those who have passed but
whose art continues to inspire.
T h e J o h n A . C a l a b r o
Music& Arts
Program
This spring, Facebook COOSheryl Sandberg spoke
to cadets about diversity and gender equity in the
workplace and leadership.