Maj. Tracy D. Koivisto has been appointed the new chair of the Military Science Department at the University of Central Arkansas.
Maj. Koivisto, a logistics officer in the U.S. Army, is the first female to lead the department. She joined UCA on July 1.
Maj. Koivisto will be teaching the senior cadets with Military Science and Leadership 401 and 402 in the fall and spring. She has served in the Army for more than 16 years in California, Virginia, Germany, Israel, Maryland, Kansas, Illinois, and Iraq. Maj. Koivisto has also served in command of an Air Defense unit.
“I am excited to be here to continue the growth and progress LTC Akiman accomplished,” she said.
Maj. Koivisto’s goals for the Military Science Department are two-fold.
“For those students who take the program through to completion, my goal is to produce officers/leaders instilled with the warrior ethos who are prepared to lead America’s sons and daughters and are prepared to make a positive impact on their first units of assignment,” she said. “For those students who try the program and choose not to continue, my goal is that they grow as individuals by gaining insights into leadership, developing confidence, becoming more physically fit, and learning organizational skills all of which will provide lifelong benefits.”
Maj. Koivisto, a native of northern Wisconsin, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, commissioning through the ROTC program. She earned her master degree from the University of Oklahoma, and was an assistant professor of military science at the University of Maryland. She is married to Keith Kovisto, who is a paramedic. They have a daughter, Aila.