The Coast Guard will have the first woman superintendent of a military service academy at the helm of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy when classes convene next summer. The commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Bob Papp, has selected Rear Adm. Sandra L. Stosz, Coast Guard director of reserve and leadership, for the superintendent position.

"Rear Adm. Stosz has dedicated her career to developing professional Coast Guard men and women," Papp said. "We are also extremely proud to be the first service with a woman at the helm of our academy.

"The Coast Guard has always led by allowing men and women equal access to all career fields and assignments."

In her current position, Stosz is responsible for policy affecting the recruitment and training of more than 8,000 Coast Guard reserve members. She has also commanded the Coast Guard’s only recruit training center in Cape May, N.J. She will be the first and only female commander to head any of the nation’s five military academies.

"I am humbled by the prospect of taking over such an important position in our service and honored to be following Rear Adm. Burhoe," Stosz said. "The school and officer corps have benefited in so many ways from Scott’s outstanding leadership and vision."

Under the command of the current superintendent, Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe, the school was ranked as a top college by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and listed as the No. 1 college in the northeast by U.S. News and World Report. The school had five Fulbright and three Truman scholars during his tenure. Burhoe also improved the school’s diversity record, doubling the percentage of minority admissions from 12 percent in 2008 to 24 percent in 2010.

"Rear Adm. Stosz is an excellent choice to succeed me as superintendent," Burhoe said. "She has a distinguished record of service, and as a member of the board of trustees, understands the importance of continuing to move the academy forward on its current track."

Burhoe is scheduled to retire July 1.

The Coast Guard Academy was established in 1876.