News Release

Coast Guard Capt. James Rendon pins a Meritorious Service Medal on the uniform of Capt. Mark B. Case Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, during a retirement ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 1st Class NyxoLyno Cangemi

NEW LONDON, Conn. — The chair of the department of mathematics at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy here retired during a ceremony Friday after serving more than 32 years in the U.S. Coast Guard.

A resident of Ledyard, Conn., since his career at the academy began in 1984, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Mark B. Case served as assistant head of the department of mathematics for five years, associate dean of academics for two years and as the head of the department of mathematics for the past nine years.

Case entered the Coast Guard Academy on June 30, 1975, and received his commission on May 23, 1979. He majored in Mathematical Sciences and graduated with honors.

After graduation, Case served as deck watch officer and operations officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Sassafras, a 180-foot buoy tender homeported in Governors Island, N.Y.  He then served as commanding officer of the 82-foot patrol boat Point Francis, homeported in Sandy Hook, N.J. 

Selected for graduate school, Case attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for one year and was awarded a Master of Science in operations research and statistics in 1984.

After graduate school, Case was assigned to the Coast Guard Academy as an instructor in the department of mathematics and was selected and sworn in as a member of the Permanent Commissioned Teaching Staff in 1988.  He attended the University of Rhode Island where he earned his doctorate in applied mathematical sciences.

At the academy, Case served as chair of the Academic Council, Labor-Management Committee, and multiple search committees.  He also served on the Dean’s Cabinet, Faculty Senate, Curriculum Committee and Women’s Softball coaching staff.

Case accepted a position as the associate professor in the department of science and mathematics at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn.

During his career, Case received numerous unit, team and individual awards including a Meritorious Service Medal, and he received the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award in 2008. Case received a second Meritorious Service Medal during the ceremony for his service at the academy.

The citation from the award reads:

CITATION TO ACCOMPANY THE AWARD OF
THE MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL

TO

 CAPTAIN MARK B. CASE 
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

Captain Case is cited for meritorious service in the performance of duty as Mathematics Department Head, U. S. Coast Guard Academy, from August 2002 to August 2011.

Captain Case displayed outstanding leadership in guiding the Department to excellence in scholarship, national prominence and support of Coast Guard strategic goals. Captain Case promoted faculty and student opportunities at intellectual centers of excellence such as NSA, NASA, and National Laboratories. His support led to faculty involvement in the Operational Risk Assessment Model that won the 2010 Coast Guard Innovation Award.

Captain Case coordinated over 60 capstone projects including the Selected Re-enlistment Bonus Analysis which was implemented Coast Guard-wide, saved millions of dollars, and immediately created financial options for 6,000 enlisted personnel. He improved the capstone program from one that lacked sufficient project submissions to one held in high esteem that directly receives flag officer requests for analysis.

Under Captain Case’s leadership, the major doubled its graduates, achieved 35 percent female instructors with 40 percent gender and ethnic diversity in the rotating military pipeline. Captain Case upgraded the now state-of-the art computer lab and implemented critical computer curriculum changes. He initiated a middle school tutoring program, implemented the 4-5-2 mathematics curriculum for at-risk cadets and hosted the annual Mathcounts competition for over 300 Connecticut students.

He achieved an extremely high level of staff involvement in crucial Academy duties such as Director of Advising, Institute for Leadership and NCAA representative and attained prestigious recognition for faculty at the DoD Women’s History Month Ceremony.

Captain Case's dedication and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.