Fork Union Military Academy will formally welcome Capt. Mark Black, USN (ret.) as the Academy’s 12th president in a Change of Command Ceremony on Sunday, October 15, at 1:30 p.m. on the school’s Founder’s Day.
Capt. Black will be taking command from the school’s current President, Colonel David L. Coggins, USMC (ret.), who announced his intent to retire this past spring. The Change of Command will cap off a weekend of festivities as the Academy will celebrate its 125th birthday during the three-day event starting Friday, October 13.
Fork Union will mark the celebration of its founding in October of 1898 with the following events, at which we encourage media to attend all or any events, but especially the Parade
Capt. Black will officially take over from COL Coggins on Monday, October 16.
For the past two years, Capt. Black has served the Academy as a teacher of US Military and War History, Leadership & Ethics, and US Government in the Academy’s unique One Subject Plan. He also has coached football, wrestling and lacrosse. He has previously served as Superintendent of Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia.
Capt. Black graduated from Virginia Military Institute with distinction. He was commissioned in the US Navy in 1986 and was designated as a Naval Flight Officer and is a graduate of the famed Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). During his Navy career, he was selected to serve as a squadron commander and a wing commander before being assigned to lead all Naval personnel in Afghanistan as the NAVCENT Forward Afghanistan Officer in Charge. He was Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science at the University of Virginia’s Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Unit and came to the Academy from Fishburne Military School, where he served as Superintendent.
Fork Union Military Academy is a leading Christian, college preparatory boarding school which utilizes the structure and discipline of a military academy system to maximize the potential and achievement of our young men. The Academy serves young men in grades 7-12 and postgraduates in the wonderful village of Fork Union in the heart of central Virginia. The Academy offers high-quality academics and athletics built on a foundation of traditional core values that helps build character development, self-discipline, responsibility, and leadership development skills.
