Veterans, school aim to train engineers Published Feb. 5, 2010 By Howdy Stout TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Retired Brig.Gen. Ben Robinson says he is the product of a self-inflicted poor education. Which is surprising, considering that General Robinson is a former MIT fellow, Boeing executive and Air Force brigadier general. And now, the former commander of the 552nd Air Control Wing, is an advocate for education. That's why, as a vice president of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, he knows a good education when he sees it. "I look forward to coming to work here every morning," General Robinson says. "And every day I get to look out the window and see some of the best and brightest students in our nation." "Right now the U.S. is 17th in the world in producing engineers," General Robinson says. "Our high school juniors are rated 22nd in math and 26th in science. That paints a pretty grim picture. We need to improve our status in education." And although Oklahoma ranks nearly last in state educational funding, he says, there are a few glimmers of hope. One of those is OSSM. Founded by the Oklahoma State Legislature in 1983 and opening in 1992, the school is geared to giving Oklahoma's brightest students a focused math and science education. OSSM's main campus in Oklahoma City currently accommodates up to 140 junior and senior high school students who live and study at the school. The school will expand the residence capability to 280 students with a new dormitory scheduled to open in 2012. Another 19 regional centers around the state provide half-day physics and calculus classes for other qualified students. "OSSM has established a pretty amazing set-up around the state with the main campus being the center of excellence," explains the general. Application for enrollment is open -- and free -- to all Oklahoma high school students, but competition is fierce. Of more than 300 students who apply for full-time enrollment, between 70 and 75 are accepted to attend the main campus program. "They go through a personal interview process and a short computer skills test," General Robinson explains. "It's very competitive." Once accepted, however, they are treated like the college students they will soon become. Classes are run on a college-type schedule with teachers being addressed as doctor or professor, because most of them are. "Seventy percent of our professors have PhDs and several are former military," he says. Professor Jack Gleason, dean of Students, is a former Naval Academy meteorology instructor while Dr. Jack Herron, the Regional Center director, and Professor Charlie Dillard, the Computer Network director, are -- like General Robinson -- both highly-qualified Air Force veterans. The school offers 32 different sciences and six foreign languages in addition to history, arts and literature. "We have the only geophysics program at the high school level in the nation," Robinson adds. "Several of the classes I'm taking, my old high school couldn't come close," says student Michael Bogran of Tulsa, who repeated his junior year of high school to attend OSSM. "This is the best place in the world to teach," Mr. Dillard says. "The students are wonderful. They're not just putting in their time. They're here to learn. If you teach here, you just can't find a better place." Selected from candidates around the state, the school's students are both bright and motivated. Most will receive some sort of scholarship for their college educations. "They all get scholarships of some kind," Mr. Robinson explains. "We've had over a thousand graduates from this school. Over 300 have gone into engineering. The majority go to Oklahoma colleges and universities and the majority return to Oklahoma." But being bright doesn't mean the students don't still have to work hard at their studies. "It's a lot more challenging, which I appreciate," says Whitley O'Conner, a student from Ada. "There's a lot more responsibility. It's good preparation." The school is also a viable option for military parents, who are often faced with moving just as their children enter the last critical phase of high school. Being a boarding school, students live on campus - an ideal situation for military families facing a permanent change of station during a child's final years of school. "This is an excellent opportunity for military dependents to think about a school like this," Robinson said. "The military sees the value of a good education," Robinson adds. "We've had a real presence in students who've gone on to the military." The school also prepares the students for life after academia. OSSM regularly brings in guest speakers whose careers are the direct result of an educational background in math or science. Recent speakers include Colonel Pat Hoffman, commander of the 552nd and Aubrey McClendon, President and CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corporation. "Our whole idea is to connect the study of science and math with careers in science and math," Robinson says. "It's education and preparation. They get to meet some very successful people." General Robinson, who started his military career by enlisting in the Army at the height of the Vietnam war, is unashamed in his promotion of a military career and the connection of military service and education. Service members are always learning, Mr. Robinson explains. And when they are not learning, they are teaching others. That culture of service, he adds, translates well into the educational field. "It's about that culture of service," Mr. Robinson says. "And as a teacher, it's a way of being of continued service." Although, General Robinson admits, he never saw himself serving as an educator. An Army enlistee, he turned down the opportunity to become a commissioned officer but accepted a spot as a warrant officer helicopter pilot, eventually serving several tours of duty in Vietnam. After a renewed success in getting a college education, Robinson joined the Air Force to be pilot, flying aircraft from the B-52 to the B-2 stealth bomber and eventually rising to the rank of Brigadier General commanding the 552nd during 9/11. He is still famous for ordering Tinker's boundary fence cut, allowing 552nd crewman to bypass the long lines at the security gates and fly missions over America. "I was the guy who cut the hole in the back fence," he says. "We had airplanes to launch. We were literally flying 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We need to do some extraordinary things to get aircraft on station." Retiring in 2002, Mr. Robinson joined Boeing. But last year, aerospace enthusiast and the state's Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins, suggested Robinson to go back to school. "I said, 'But I'm a Boeing executive,'" he said. "She said this is better. And she was right." Education, he discovered, is vital not just to individual success but for national success as well. "Building intellectual capital is the right thing we've got to do for our nation," he says. "It's going to make us a better, safer world. This is the OSSM mission." The payoff is the students, many of whom go on to varied careers in science, medicine, management and government service. But, Robinson says, the students are more than just successful. "It's not just about being successful," he says. "It's about being significant. Those are the people we need in this nation. And this school produces them."