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Home / Academics / Academic Majors / Marine and Environmental Sciences / Marine and Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff / CAPT Victoria Futch

Victoria Futch, Ph.D., Captain (Permanent Commissioned Teaching Staff)

Associate Dean School of Science, Mathematics, and the Humanities (SSMH)

Originally from Santa Rosa, California, CAPT Futch graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2003 with a B.S degree in Marine and Environmental Science and orders to USCGC Sassafras (WLB 401) home-ported in Apra Harbor Guam. In November 2003, USCGC Sassafras was decommissioned and the crew reported to Marinette Wisconsin to commission the brand new buoy tender USCGC Sequoia (WLB 215) and sail her back to Guam. In 2005, CAPT Futch reported to the USCGC Maple (WLB 207) in Sitka, Alaska as Operations Officer. In 2007 CAPT Futch was selected for the Coast Guard’s Advanced Education program in Oceanography, and in 2009 earned a M.S. degree in Oceanography from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. After completing graduate school, CAPT Futch reported to the Coast Guard Academy. CAPT Futch was selected for Permanent Commissioned Teaching Staff in 2011. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of Marine Science. In addition to teaching, CAPT Futch is also an assistant coach for the women’s crew team, the faculty advisor for the USCGA Chapter of the Society for Women in Marine Science (SWMS) and science department internship co-coordinator.

Education

  • Ph.D., Physical Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019
  • M.S., Physical Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2009
  • B.S., Marine and Environmental Sciences, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 2003

Courses Taught

  • Atmospheric and Marine Science
  • Oceans I: Air and Sea
  • Marine Forecasting
  • Operational Oceanography
  • Polar Oceanography

Professional Memberships

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • The Oceanography Society
  • 500 Women Scientists
  • Society for Women in Marine Science
  • American Meteorological Society
  • American Geophysical Union

Selected Publications and Presentations

  • Futch, V. and Allen A., 2019. Search and Rescue Applications: On the Need to Improve Ocean Observing Data Systems in Offshore and Remote Locations. Front. Mar. Sci. 6:301. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00301
  • Berkson, J., Woityra, W., Boda, K., Allen, A., Hicks, M., and Futch, V., 2019. The Role of Marine Science and Oceanography in the United States Coast Guard. Proc. Coast Guard J. Saf. Secur. Sea, 76, 21-29.
  • Vlietstra, L., Mrakovcich, K., Futch, V., and Stutzman, B., 2016. Anthropogenic Climate Change in Undergraduate Marine and Environmental Science Programs in the United States. J. College Sci. Teaching, 45, 34-43.
  • Brushett, B., Allen, A., Futch, V., King, B., and Lemckert, C., 2014. Determining the leeway drift characteristics of tropical pacific island craft. Appl. Ocean Res., 44, 92-101. doi: 10.1016/j.apor.2013.11.004

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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