Out Army veteran named chair of West Point Board of Visitors

WEST POINT, N.Y. — A 1980 West Point graduate active in the fight for gay rights in the military has been named chairwoman of the board that reviews programs at the U.S. Military Academy.

Brenda Sue Fulton was named chairwoman of the Board of Visitors on Monday at a meeting of the advisory board.

Fulton was part of the first West Point class to admit women. She was commissioned in the U.S. Army, served as a platoon leader and company commander in Germany, and was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain.

Get the Daily Brief

The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you:

Subscribe to our Newsletter

She was a founder of Knights Out, a founding board member of OutServe, and she currently heads SPARTA, an LGBT military organization.

Fulton and Penelope Gnesin were the first same-sex couple to exchange vows at West Point’s landmark Cadet Chapel in 2012.

Article continues below

In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Fulton to the West Point Board of Visitors, which made her the first openly gay person to serve there.

The board advises the President on matters relating to West Point, and is comprised of nine members of Congress and six presidential appointees.