The highest-ranking woman in the Maine Army National Guard has departed to take a job at the University of Maine.

Brig. Gen. Diane Dunn, who retired Dec. 31 after serving for 33 years, now returns to her alma mater as a senior adviser for special initiatives to UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy.

“We look forward to having Diane back on campus as part of my senior leadership team,” Ferrini-Mundy said.

She served as chief of staff of Maine Army National Guard from 2016–20, commander of the 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in Bangor and deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.

She was the first female general officer, first woman to command a brigade and first woman to serve as assistant adjutant general.

Dunn has a master’s degree in public administration from UMaine, as well as a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. She has also served as an assistant professor of military sciences at UMaine.

Dunn’s work in the UMaine president’s office will include a focus on a number of the university’s strategic initiatives, such as the integration of the University of Maine at Machias campus and the President’s Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.