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Home / Academics / Academic Majors / Government / Government Faculty and Staff / Dr. Richard Zuczek

Richard Zuczek, Ph.D.

Government, Professor Dean, School of Science, Mathematics, and the Humanities

RZuczekDr. Richard Zuczek, the Dean of the School of Science, Mathematics, and the Humanities, joined the Academy faculty in 1999. A historian and anthropologist, Dean Zuczek’s scholarship and teaching range from military strategy and social movements, to world civilization, Coast Guard history, and art history. He has served on a variety of enrollment management and hiring committees, and was the Steering Committee Chair for the Academy’s 2010 institutional re-accreditation. Dean Zuczek’s leadership roles include Section Chief for the Government Major, Deputy Head of the Department of Humanities, and Head of the Department of Humanities. Among his accomplishments are the establishment of the Intelligence program at the Academy, the creation of the Center for Arctic Study and Policy, initiation of the Joint Duty and State Department faculty programs, and the creation of the Culture and Languages Department at CGA.

Education

  • Ph.D. History, The Ohio State University, 1993
  • M.A., History, The Ohio State University, 1989
  • B.A., History, The Pennsylvania State University, 1986
  • B.A., Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, 1986

Courses Taught

  • Leaders in U.S. History
  • Romanticism
  • Second World War
  • Modern Europe
  • American Foreign Policy
  • American Civil War
  • U.S. Military Policy
  • Honors Humanities
  • World Civilizations
  • Intro to Coast Guard Wargaming
  • History of the U.S. Coast Guard
  • Research Seminar in Coast Guard History
  • American Social Movements
  • Globalization and the Emerging Arctic

Selected Publications and Presentations

  • Producer/author, “Polar Guardians,” documentary film funded by the Center for Arctic Study and Policy, USCGA, 2020.
  • “Andrew Johnson, Congress, and the Impeachment Crisis,” book chapter in The Politics of Impeachment, ed. Margaret Tseng, Westphalia Press (Policy Studies Organization), 2018.
  • Reconstruction: An Historical Encyclopedia. Second Edition. ABC Clio/ Greenwood Press. 2016.
  • “The Foreign Policy of Andrew Johnson,” in Andrew Johnson: A Biography. Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.
  • Editor-in-Chief. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of the Reconstruction Era. Two Volumes. Greenwood Press, 2006.
  • “ARCSAR and U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Outlook,” The North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum, USCG Base Boston, October 2019.
  • “Armed Forces’ History in Comparative Perspective,” Office of Net Assessment Leadership Seminar, Department of Defense, Summer 2018
  • “The Great Shock and Human Identity,” The American Service Academies Program, USCGA, November 2017.
  • “The Coast Guard as a Mirror of America,” the Coast Guard Day Address, Brooklyn, NY, August 2016.

Honors and Awards

  • USCGA Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award (2016)
  • Armed Forces Civilian Service Medal
  • Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation (3)
  • Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation (2)
  • Commander’s Award for Civilian Service

Professional Affiliations

  • American Political Science Association
  • Society for Military History
  • American Historical Association
  • New England Arctic Network
  • The History Society

Contact Information

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Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

  1. If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  2. If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  3. If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  4. If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  5. All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.

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