(Vallejo, California – April 6, 2018) – Admiral James Stavridis, former supreme
allied commander at NATO and current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
at Tufts University, will deliver the commencement address at California State University
Maritime Academy's April 28 ceremony.
The military commissioning for students who entered as ensigns into the U.S. Navy,
U.S. Coast Guard, or the U.S. Navy Reserve will be held at 10:00 a.m. on the Campus
Quad. The commencement ceremony will be held on the Quad beginning at 1:30 p.m. During
the ceremony, 225 undergraduates and 20 graduates of the master's program in Transportation
and Engineering Management will cross the stage.
A Florida native, Jim Stavridis attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis,
and spent over thirty years in the Navy, rising to the rank of four-star admiral.
Among his many commands were four years as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO,
where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and piracy
off the coast of Africa.
In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to
the secretary of the Navy and the secretary of Defense. He led the Navy's premier
operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks.
He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the
Navy League John Paul Jones Award for inspirational leadership, along with more than
50 U.S. and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations.
In 2016, Stavridis was vetted for the role of vice president by Secretary Hillary
Clinton, and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position with
President Donald Trump. He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning
the Gullion prize as outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic
honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student. Stavridis
has published eight books on leadership, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America,
as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals.
Admiral Stavridis is also the chair of the Board of the U.S. Naval Institute, the
professional association of the nation's sea services: Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard,
and Merchant Marine. He is a monthly columnist for Time magazine and chief international
security analyst for NBC News. Stavridis is the 12th Dean at The Fletcher School,
a post he assumed in the summer of 2013.
At the ceremony, Cal Maritime and the board of trustees of the California State University
will confer upon Stavridis the honorary degree of Doctor of Law in recognition of
his distinguished career, his contributions to leadership development, and his role
as an advocate for the maritime industry.
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ABOUT CAL MARITIME
Established in 1929, California State University Maritime Academy is the only degree-granting
maritime academy on the West Coast. Located in Vallejo, California, the campus offers
undergraduate degrees that prepare students for careers in engineering, transportation,
international relations, business, and global logistics. Cal Maritime also offers
a master’s degree in Transportation and Engineering Management, as well as a number
of extended learning programs and courses.