Valued member of AU Board of Visitors retiring Published Nov. 25, 2009 By Carl Bergquist Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- After 13 years of service to the Air University Board of Visitors, Dr. Jan Kehoe is leaving the board but has many fond memories of her trips to Maxwell-Gunter. Dr. Kehoe said her best memory of Air University is the interaction with military and civilian personnel. She said that experience has strengthened her commitment to the Air Force and the military. "I'm so impressed with the quality of the training and education the Air Force provides its people," she said. "The general public doesn't realize the quality here at Air University, which is truly that of a first-class university, because they have no way of knowing. I think one of the roles of members of the Board of Visitors is to be an advocate of Air University and spread the word about the quality of Air Force education." Dr. Kehoe said she was pleased with the fact that the board was not political, but non-partisan. She said even though board members are appointed by the president, they are appointed to help improve the educational experience at Air University. "I was appointed to the board by a president who was from a different political party than I'm from," she said. Dr. Kehoe said another fond memory she will have from her time on the BOV is the quality of board members themselves. "There is such a wealth of talent on the Air University BOV," she said. "And the board is an independent organization that approves Air University programs to assist accreditation. I think my proudest moment was when I was notified that Air University had received accreditation." She said there are always many moments of pride when you see your efforts come to fruition. Two such moments for her were seeing the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies expanded to accommodate a larger number of students, and working toward getting the Officer Training School into a single facility. She said when she first came to Maxwell in 1997, the OTS program was divided among a number of different base organizations. Dr. Kehoe said she has plans for her retirement from her duties at Air University. She said she has recently taken up golf and has now reached the category of "DD, or decent duffer." She also said she would like to spend more time with her grandchildren. "I was in an Air University BOV meeting when I received word of the birth of first grandchild," she joked. "I'm now expecting my sixth grandchild, so, I've been through six grandchildren while on the board." Dr. Kehoe, a former BOV chair, said serving on the board was, "the greatest honor of her career." She is also the former CEO and president of the Community College Leadership Development Initiative Foundation, an organization partnered with the University of San Diego to raise funds for supporting the education and training of community college leaders. Dr. Kehoe said she is planning on writing two books in the near future. One will be a humorous fiction about "baby-boomers," while the second will be a genealogy of her family. She said she also has a few last words for Air University. "Keep up the momentum. Air University has the capacity and will need to evolve, but I think it is already doing that," she said. "I would like to take a moment to personally thank everyone at Air University, and in the Air Force, for their service to our country." On a final note, Dr. Kehoe said she has been to Montgomery so many times during her years as a BOV member she would now like to return as a tourist and see the historic sites of the city.