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The New London Day
Sunday, July 6, 2003

Former Coast Guard Dean To Service Another Community
Haas Will Assume The Top Position At SUNY-Cobleskill

By ROBERT A. HAMILTON
Day Staff Writer

New London - Retired Coast Guard Capt. Thomas J. Haas has
spent 32 of his last 34 years associated with the Coast Guard, but
now he's heading far from the sea to take on a new challenge.

Haas has finished his five-year appointment as dean of academics
at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and later this month will become
president of the State University of New York at Cobleskill.

He will retain his ties to the region, including his house in Niantic, he
said, and hanging on the wall of his new office will be a small blanket
from the Director of Athletics, Raymond Cieplik, decorated with
the words, "Dean Thomas Haas, 1998-2003, A Special Friend to
CGA Athletics."

"It reminds me of a very special part of my life," Haas said in an
interview at his office last week. "But this is a wonderful opportunity."

Howard Dunn, head of the engineering department at the Academy,
has been appointed to fill Haas' position for a year while they conduct
a national search for a replacement.

Haas first came to the Academy on July 4, 1969, as a member of
one of the few classes ever sworn in on Independence Day.
Graduating four years later, he served on the Acacia in the Great
Lakes, attended graduate school at the University of Michigan,
spent four years at Coast Guard Headquarters in the Merchant
Marine Safety program, and came back to the Academy as a
faculty member.

>From 1983 until his retirement in 1996, Haas taught chemistry and
leadership courses. He also served as head coach for the softball
team and helped coach baseball and women's basketball.

The Coast Guard even figured prominently in his private life. As a
third-class cadet he was assigned to the Mackinaw on the Great
Lakes, which pulled into Union City, Mich., during the Cherry
Festival. He volunteered to act as an escort, and stepped onto
the pier to meet his future wife, Marcia.

"I was in my whites and she was in her fancy garb, and I've been
escorting her ever since," Haas said.

For two years after his retirement he served as vice president of
William Penn College in Iowa, then in 1998 returned to the
Academy as dean of academics.

It has been a busy five years, during which the Academy earned
re-accreditation by the New England Association of Schools
and Colleges, as well as re-accreditation of its engineering
program. Haas helped establish the Leadership Development
Center at the Academy, and was instrumental in the "Extended
Opportunity Program," which provides an opportunity to
students who need more than four years to finish all the
educational requirements.

So far, he noted proudly, all 41 of the cadets admitted to the
program have graduated.

If the Academy can save a career that would otherwise have to
be scrapped by letting a cadet finish a couple of courses after all
his or her classmates have graduated, it protects a huge
investment made in getting the young person to that point, he
said. And it had become particularly important as the Coast
Guard grows.

"Especially in these times of increased demands on the Coast
Guard to meet homeland security needs, there's pressure on the
Academy to deliver not only the right kind of officer, but the
right number of officers," Haas said.

But Haas is as well-known off-campus as on, spending time
on projects for the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern
Connecticut, United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, and
the Red Cross. He has also helped do strategic planning for
the New London schools, and helped to organize a coalition
of seven Southeastern Connecticut colleges.

Haas has also been an ardent supporter of the Multicultural
Magnet School in New London.

"That became a true passion for me," Haas said. "Today's
decisions are tomorrow's reality, and that magnet school has
become a standard of quality for all the New London schools
to rally around."

He said his wife has not only opened their home to cadets
through the years, but has volunteered her time with the
Family Support Fund, worked on cadet activities such as
musical productions, and is active in the PEO Sisterhood,
a philanthropic and educational organization for women,
founded shortly after the Civil War.

With their parents as examples, all three of their children
are in or on their way to careers in public service: the oldest,
Eric, is an Air Force captain and F-15 pilot who flew 16
missions over Iraq in Operation Southern Watch; Gregory
is a lieutenant junior grade in the Coast Guard, on his way
to the cutter Hickory in Homer, Alaska; and daughter
Sarah, who graduated from high school this year, is on her
way to Boston University as a Naval Reserve Officer
Training Corps scholar.

"Marcia and I always believed in supporting the communities
where we lived," Haas said. "I can't tell you how proud I
am that they all chose the paths they have chosen."

© 1998-2003 The Day Publishing Co.