History

The Air Force Academy is the youngest of the U.S. service academies. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a congressional bill establishing the Air Force Academy on April 1, 1954. With his signature, President Eisenhower initiated a chain of events that, over the years, has produced one of the leading military and academic institutions in the country.

The Site Selection Committee, appointed by Secretary of the Air Force Harold E. Talbott, addressed the question of a suitable location for the Academy. Members of the committee bore in mind the advice of West Point and Annapolis representatives who suggested the Academy have an area large enough to accommodate cadet training and future expansion. Other criteria for the site included natural beauty, a variety of local educational, religious, cultural and recreational facilities, as well as proximity to large cities.

After traveling 21,000 miles and considering 580 proposed sites in 45 states, the committee recommended three locations. They included Colorado Springs, Lake Geneva, Wis., and Alton, Ill. The three suggested sites were submitted to Secretary Talbott for final selection.

Secretary Talbott chose the present site June 14, 1954. On the same day, he named a corner of Lowry Air Force Base, Colo., as the temporary site of the Academy while the permanent site was being constructed. The dedication of the temporary site took place July 11, 1955. At the same time, the Academy’s first class of 306 cadets was sworn in.

 Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon, who had been involved in much of the pre-legislation Academy planning, was recalled from retirement to become the first superintendent.

It was the intent of the Air Force to create a landmark equal to that of West Point, Annapolis or any other highly-visible national asset. To accomplish this goal, the best design talent was commissioned to plan and design the campus.This talent included the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, photographer Ansel Adams, industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague, landscape architect Dan Kiley and noted graphic designer Herbert Bayer. The result is one of the largest assemblages of modern architecture.

The move from the temporary site at Lowry to the permanent site took place in the fall of 1958, as members of the cadet wing marched through the north gate to the cadet area. Construction of Academy buildings continued around the cadets while they pursued their academic and military studies. The Academy’s academic Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools accredited the Academy’s degree program in 1959; an uncommon occurrence since the first class had not yet graduated.

The graduation of the first 207 cadets took place June 3, 1959, in Arnold Hall. Five years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill authorizing a student increase in the Cadet Wing from 2,529 to 4,417. The first class of cadets to include women entered in 1976 and graduated in 1980. The Academy received two special honors on April 1, 2004, when the U.S. Postal Service celebrated the Academy’s 50th anniversary with a commemorative 37-cent stamp. Additionally, the Academy’s Cadet Area was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.