Janie L. Mines (born 1958) is an American former naval officer who was the first African-American woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in 1980.[1][2][3] After serving in a variety of roles in the U.S. Navy, she held management positions in a variety of corporations and became a management consultant. In 2002, she was an Olympic torchbearer.[1]
Janie L. Mines | |
|---|---|
 Midshipman Janie L. Mines in 1980 | |
| Born | 1958 (age 65–66) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | First African-American woman to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy (1980) |
Early life
editMines was born in 1958 in Aiken, South Carolina.[1] Her mother is Daisy Sheppard Mines, her father is Reverend William L. Mines, a Baptist minister, and she has a younger sister, Gwen.[1] She graduated from Aiken High School in 1976,[4] where she had been a member of the Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps JROTC unit,[2] a National Honor Society Student, and was her graduating Class Salutatorian.[1]
Naval career
editIn August 1975, the U.S. Congress authorized the admittance of women to its military service academies.[5] Mines was the first and only African-American woman of the 81 women who entered the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) in 1976.[2] While at the Academy, Mines was a member of the fencing team, squad leader, midshipman drill officer, and regimental adjutant.[1][2] She is reported to have found the experience hard and disillusioning, but valuable in learning how to deal with, and make progress in, the system.[2]
In 1980, Mines became the first African-American woman to graduate from the USNA, and her sister graduated from USNA the following year.[2] Mines graduated with the rank of Ensign, and a B.S. in general engineering.[2][3]
A knee injury in 1978 had ended Mines' plans for a career in the Marines.[2] After graduation, she trained as a supply officer and was assigned to a supervisor position at the Naval Training Center Orlando.[2] She then served in the naval annex at The Pentagon, and aboard the USS Emory S. Land.[6] Mines also served as a senior advisor on the staff of the Secretary of the Navy.[1]
Post-navy career
edit
Mines left the Navy to earn a Masters of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a 1998 thesis entitled "Integrated change management".[3] She held positions in management in several corporations, including Procter & Gamble and Hershey Foods, and was Senior Vice President of Strategic Sourcing at Bank of America.[1] She has been a management consultant[1] and is a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS).[7]
Honors
editIn 2002, Mines was a torchbearer in the Olympic Torch Relay, and has received local civic awards.[1] She was honored by the Navy with a Business Achievement Award in 2010.[8] She was also subject of a USNA video, Courage.[9]