Kurt A. Sanftleben was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Medical Service Corps in 1974 as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Michigan State University. He holds a Doctorate of Education from the College of William and Mary and has completed extensive graduate work in Business Administration and the Humanities. He has earned a professional postgraduate teaching certificate from the Commonwealth of Virginia and was recognized as a certified physical distribution manager by the American Logistics Association.
A graduate of the National Defense University, Dr. Sanftleben's military education also includes training from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Army Logistics Management College, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency, and the U.S. Army Academy of Health Science.
Dr. Sanftleben retired from active duty in 1994 following a faculty tour at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine. His prior military assignments included a full range of medical and multi-functional logistics leadership positions within the 2nd Armored Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, and the 7th Infantry Division. Additional military assignments included staff service at the U.S. Atlantic Command, U.S. Army III Corps, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Dr. Sanftleben’s military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster, as well as the Expert Field Medical Badge.
Upon retiring from active duty, Dr. Sanftleben accepted an appointment as the Deputy Director of Commonwealth Challenge where he was instrumental in establishing Virginia’s first residential high school dropout recovery program. He has been the Director of the Marine Corps’ Alfred M. Gray Research Center since January 1998 and the Marine Corps University’s Vice-President for Instructional and Research Support since 2005.
Dr. Sanftleben is a Member Emeritus of the College of William & Mary School of Education Dean’s Council, a past President of the Association of 1775, and a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association.