CNO Enacts Immediate Change in Officer Education
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kellie Arakawa

When the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) celebrates its 100th year of academic excellence in 2009, it will also welcome two substantial changes brought forth by the Navy’s senior leadership, signifying the Department of Defense’s long-term commitment to the school’s education and research mission.

At the NPS Board of Advisors (BOA)

CNO Admiral Gary Roughead Illustration by Javier Chagoya

meeting this past October, Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Mark Ferguson briefed the establishment of the Advanced Education Review Board (AERB), an education governance board that for the first time includes leaders from all three of the Navy’s higher-education institutions: the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval War College and NPS.

Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) Adm. Patrick Walsh will chair the AERB and serve as the executive agent for the institutions while the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead will serve as the reporting senior for each school. Under the new organizational structure, the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (DCNO) Total Force (N1) will be responsible for education policy, requirements, and mission funding, and the DCNO Fleet Readiness and Logistics (N4) will be responsible for installation funding, military construction and base operating support.

The AERB will also be tasked with overseeing the Navy’s education strategy, policy, execution and resources, and is expected to convene on a biannual basis.

“The governance decision provides a forum for us to discuss educational outreach opportunities, strategies and fundamental things,” said NPS President Dan Oliver. “It also ensures we have adequate and stable mission funding as well as adequate and stable facilities funding.”

With the VCNO serving as the chair and executive agent, the AERB will be a highly valuable resource for the school, said NPS Provost Leonard Ferrari. “Because of the group’s level of seniority in the Navy, they’re very strategic and they know where the Navy is going. So this board will be a good place for us to bring new ideas forward and to get some preliminary feedback about the directions that we’re heading,” he explained.

Dr. Christine Cermak, Vice President of Information Resources, believes the education review board will also provide NPS with higher levels of visibility. “This is a tremendous step forward,” she said. “Just having an opportunity to talk about our institutions at a regular venue that’s recognized by the highest levels of Navy leadership is going to be an advantage for all of us.”

Coinciding with Ferguson’s announcement of the AERB was a proposal by DCNO (N4) Vice Adm. Michael Loose to change the school’s designation from Navy facility to Navy installation.

NPS currently serves as a naval facility within Navy Region Southwest (NRSW), but will soon become an independent installation activity much like the Naval Academy, and include an installation commander with eight to 10 additional staff members.

As a result, students, faculty and staff should notice an immediate increase in custodial services, special project upgrades and building maintenance, said Oliver. The shift to Navy installation also includes a $3 million increase in funding for the current fiscal year, with a projected $7 million budget increase for 2010 and an annual $5 million increase thereafter. Oliver said he expects the transition to take effect immediately, or as soon as practical.

“I see this as a wonderful recognition that we will get ongoing support for lifecycle care of our classroom environment. With a substantial increase in the budget, we will be able to do more, but more importantly, we will be able to improve support of our learning spaces,” Cermak stated. “Our faculty and students deserve to have clean, safe, well-functioning and high-technology teaching and learning spaces, and this enhanced funding will permit us to make greater progress in this area.”

Ferrari also noted the school’s need to update educational facilities, particularly for science and engineering students. With the establishment of the AERB and an increase in funding, he believes NPS will not only be able to provide students with an even higher quality education, but enhance its support for the Navy’s new cooperative maritime strategy.  

“The senior operational Navy is looking at what we’re doing in a much closer way than they have in the past, and I think Adm. Roughead has shown that he is definitely interested in the education of his naval officers,” Ferrari added.

“These two major announcements signal President Oliver’s very effective advocacy for the Naval Postgraduate School,” said Cermak. “It also signals a real change in visibility and attention by the Navy to the Naval Postgraduate School’s mission and our aspirations for the future.”