2012 distinguished graduate award program
DESCRIPTION
2012 DGA Program event information and biosTRANSCRIPT
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The 2012 Distinguished Graduate Award medal ceremony
marks the 14th year of honoring and celebrating the lives of
alumni through the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
Distinguished Graduate Award program.
Each year, distinguished graduates are honored because of
their demonstrated and unselfish commitment to a lifetime of
service, their personal character and the significant contributions
they have made to the Navy and Marine Corps or as leaders in
industry or government. They are the living embodiment of
the Academy’s mission to develop leaders to “assume the highest
responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.”
We honor these five individuals for the principles they stand
for—today and always.
Admiral Sylvester R. Foley Jr. ’50, USN (Ret.)
The Honorable Daniel L. Cooper ’57
Captain Bruce McCandless II ’58, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral John R. Ryan ’67, USN (Ret.)
Mr. Daniel F. Akerson ’70
FOLEY COOPER McCANDLESS RYAN AKERSON
2012 DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD RECIPIENTS
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It is my great honor and privilege to welcome
you to the 14th annual U.S. Naval Academy
Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate
Award Ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy.
I am very pleased to personally welcome
the 2012 Distinguished Graduate Award
recipients into an elite group of alumni who
have served the Naval Academy and the
nation with distinction.
Today, you, the 2012 Distinguished
Graduates, become part of a proud tradition
of honoring alumni who exemplify the
values and missions of the Naval Academy.
Today you join the ranks of men who have
selflessly contributed to our alma mater and
the nation. You serve as an inspiration to your
families, your classmates, fellow alumni and
the Brigade of Midshipmen who have
gathered with you today to recognize your
accomplishments. I offer to each of you my
most sincere and heartfelt congratulations.
While there are many people involved
in making the Distinguished Graduate Award
medal ceremony a signature event at the
Academy, I want to take this opportunity to
express my sincere gratitude to the Selection
Committee. These individuals come together
and embrace the enviable yet arduous challenge
2012 U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
Distinguished Graduate Award
Selection Committee
Rear Admiral Thomas Lynch ’64, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Joseph Prueher ’64, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Norbert Ryan Jr. ’67, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral John B. Padgett ’69, USN (Ret.)
Major General Leo Williams ’70, USMCR (Ret.)
Colonel Arthur Athens ’78, USMCR (Ret.)
Mr. Byron Marchant ’78
Captain Maureen Cragin ’85, USNR (Ret.)
of selecting distinguished graduates from a
long list of many deserving alumni. I am
proud to chair the committee and continue
to be impressed with the level of dedication
from the group.
Please enjoy today’s ceremony celebrating
the life and accomplishments of these
remarkable alumni. Congratulations again,
and thank you for all you have done—and
continue to do—for the Naval Academy, the
naval service and the country.
Admiral Ed Giambastiani ’70, USN (Ret.)
Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
Distinguished Graduate Award Selection Committee
“Today, you, the 2012 Distinguished Graduates, become
part of a proud tradition of honoring alumni who exemplify
the values and missions of the Naval Academy.”
—Admiral Ed Giambaastiani ’70, USN (Ret.)
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MEDAL PRESENTATION4:30 p.m.
INTRODUCTION OFDISTINGUISHED GRADUATES FOR 2012
INVOCATIONCaptain Michael Parisi, USN
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
WELCOME AND REMARKSVice Admiral Michael H. Miller ’74, USN
Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy
PRESENTATION OFDISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD MEDALS
Admiral Steve Abbot ’66, USN (Ret.)
Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees
and Midshipman Jordan Foley ’12
Brigade Commander
REMARKSDistinguished Graduate Award Recipients
NAVY BLUE & GOLD
DEPARTURE OF THE OFFICIAL PARTY
Midshipmen gather in Alumni Hall prior to the
13th U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
Distinguished Graduate Award Medal Ceremony.
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Admiral Sylvester “Bob” Foley Jr. ’50,
USN (Ret.), has been part of the Navy
community his entire life. His father, a Navy
hospital corpsman in World War I and later
assigned to the Fleet Marines, served
throughout the Pacific. The family followed,
including stints in Guam and the Philippines.
Admiral Foley’s three combat deployments
to Southeast Asia included command of
Attack Squadron 106 and Air Wing Eleven.
He also commanded CORONADO. He
planned and carried out the home porting
of his ship, MIDWAY, in Japan, a first for a
U.S. carrier. He developed the concept of
language and customs indoctrination
courses and helped settle dependents in
off-base housing. For his leadership, Admiral
Foley received the Legion of Merit.
Admiral Foley reported to the Pentagon
as deputy director of Navy Strategic Planning.
He returned to sea as commander of Carrier
Group Seven, followed by command of the
Seventh Fleet, earning him the first of his
three Distinguished Service Medals. He
went back to the Pentagon as deputy Chief
of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and
Operations before commanding the Pacific
Fleet from 1982 until his retirement in 1985.
“Taking command of the U.S. Pacific
Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with my
father in attendance was my proudest career
moment,” Admiral Foley said. “He was
stationed at Pearl Harbor on 7 December
1941, and seeing his son, a four-star admiral,
take command of the Pacific Fleet more
than 40 years later was the culmination of
a lifetime of Navy service for both of us.”
Admiral Foley was appointed by President
Ronald Reagan to serve as U.S. assistant
secretary of energy for Defense Programs.
That work earned him a medal for
distinguished service. Admiral Foley began
a decade-long venture with Raytheon
in 1991. While working as president of
Raytheon Japan, he helped grow its annual
business to more than $400 million. Admiral
Foley is a recipient of Japan’s highest honor,
the Order of the Rising Sun.
After chairing advisory groups reviewing
national laboratories at Berkeley, Los Alamos
and Lawrence Livermore, Admiral Foley
was asked to serve as vice president for
laboratory management in the office of the
University of California president to oversee
management of the labs. He is credited with
correcting safety and security problems and
overseeing 12,000 people and a $5 billion
annual budget.
Admiral Foley, a resident of Oakland,
CA, and his late wife, Kathleen, have four
children. Two of their children and two
grandchildren have served in the Navy and
Marines, with three of them graduating
from the Academy.
ADMIRAL
SYLVESTER R. FOLEY JR. ’50, USN (RET.)
“Knowing that the Alumni Association and Foundation
are in the forefront of support efforts for the U.S. Naval
Academy, I look forward to helping in any way I can.”
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The tireless efforts of the Honorable Daniel L.
Cooper ’57 vastly improved the nation’s
veterans disability compensation processes.
As the under secretary for benefits at the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Cooper
instituted extensive changes to improve the
delivery of those benefits. He also had
direct oversight of the very successful Veterans
Loan Guaranty Service, with foreclosure
rates well below the national average; the
improved and increased Servicemen’s Group
Life Insurance Program; and the modernization
of the GI Education Bill.
That vital work was accomplished well
after Cooper’s retirement as vice admiral
from a Navy career capped with service as
commander of the Submarine Force, Atlantic
Fleet, during which he worked closely with
submarine and strategic commanders of
NATO nations to improve water space
management, submarine safety and classified
operations execution during the Cold War.
Cooper, who also served as assistant
Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea
Warfare, was commanding officer of PUFFER
(SSN 652) as it successfully tested the new
Mk 48 ADCAP torpedo. Then in 1973,
during transit home from a six-month
deployment, PUFFER was directed to
immediately return to WestPac to execute
a highly classified mission reporting directly
to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
After retirement from the Navy in 1991,
Cooper became the vice president and general
manager of the Nuclear Services Division for
Gilbert Associates Inc. He also served as a
director and vice chairman of the board for
USAA, president of the Naval Submarine
League and on the advisory boards for the
Applied Research Lab of Penn State University
and the Applied Physics Laboratory of The
Johns Hopkins University.
In 2001, the secretary of the Department
of Veterans Affairs asked Cooper to chair a
task force studying ways to improve the
veterans disability claims process. Upon
completion of that study, he was nominated
by President George W. Bush and confirmed
by the Senate to serve as under secretary for
benefits and was subsequently granted the
title of The Honorable Daniel L. Cooper.
In April 2002, he was sworn in. He served
six years, longer than any predecessor in
the position.
Cooper’s awards include the Department
of Veterans Affairs Exceptional Service
Award, three Distinguished Service Medals,
two Legion of Merit Medals and four
Meritorious Service Medals.
He currently is working to develop the
America’s Heroes First Foundation. He and
his wife, Betty, live in Wyomissing, PA. They
have two children and six grandchildren.
Daughter Amy is married to Captain Jeff
Hughes ’83, USN. Their son, Ensign
Stephen Hughes, USN, graduated from the
Naval Academy in 2010. Daughter Cynthia
is married to Captain Donald Rose, USCG.
THE HONORABLE
DANIEL L. COOPER ’57
“The Distinguished Graduate Award speaks to the
exceptional leaders whom I have attempted to follow
and to emulate.”
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Captain Bruce McCandless II ’58, USN
(Ret.), the first human to fly untethered
in space, led the way to on-orbit servicing
of satellites such as the Solar Maximum
Mission, the Hubble Space Telescope and,
ultimately, the International Space Station.
McCandless was born in Boston to
a well-known Navy family. Two ships,
BRADLEY and MCCANDLESS, are named
in honor of his grandfathers and father.
The third generation to attend the Naval
Academy, he graduated at the top of his
class academically.
He served in Fighter Squadron 102
from 1960 to 1964 in three deployments
with the Sixth Fleet, including the Cuban
Missile Crisis naval blockade, during which
he flew night missions off Cuba to protect
U.S. efforts to verify the presence of Soviet
long-range missiles.
Captain McCandless earned a master’s
in electrical engineering from Stanford,
where his doctoral work ended with his
selection as an astronaut in 1966. Captain
McCandless provided ground support to
APOLLO missions 10, 11 and 14. For APOLLO 11,
he was given the critical task of controlling
the communications voice link between
Mission Control and the astronauts during
Buzz Aldrin’s and Neil Armstrong’s
exploration of the lunar surface.
Captain McCandless made his historic
space flight as a mission specialist on
CHALLENGER STS 41-B in February 1984,
during which he made the first untethered
solo flight. This earned him the Department
of Defense Superior Service Medal and
the NASA Exceptional Engineering
Achievement Award. In 1985, he received
the National Aeronautic Association Collier
Trophy and the first Smithsonian National
Air and Space Museum Trophy. He was
inducted into the NASA Astronaut Hall
of Fame in 2005.
He served a leadership role in the design
and development of the Hubble Space
Telescope and was a member of the space
shuttle crew that deployed the telescope
into orbit in 1990. Captain McCandless
also holds a patent for a “drop-proof” tool
tethering system still used in space today.
After a 32-year career with the Navy and
NASA, he worked in the aerospace industry,
retiring from Lockheed Martin in 2005. A
lifetime member of the Alumni Association,
his support of the Academy continues
with his recent submittal of an unsolicited
proposal to the Academic Dean for a
midshipmen project to design, build and
operate a remotely operated underwater
vehicle as part of a national competition
among universities. Captain McCandless is
providing mentoring and advising services
pro bono for the duration of the project.
Captain McCandless now lives in
Conifer, CO. He and his wife, Bernice, have
two children and two grandchildren.
CAPTAIN
BRUCE McCANDLESS II ’58, USN (RET.)
“I am deeply moved by my classmates’ efforts in
nominating me and advancing my nomination for the
Distinguished Graduate Award.”
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Vice Admiral John R. Ryan ’67, USN (Ret.),
is as devoted to the Naval Academy in
retirement from active duty as he was
during his stellar tour as Superintendent.
During his four-year tour as the 56th
Superintendent, which began in 1998,
Admiral Ryan developed a strategic plan
that was used as the framework for the
Academy’s monumental $254 million
Leaders to Serve the Nation campaign. He
was also instrumental in the consolidation
of several supporting entities into the U.S.
Naval Academy Foundation.
The capital campaign was designed
to raise the Academy’s margin of excellence
in academics, character development,
leadership, admissions, athletics and
unrestricted support. The campaign paved
the way for endowed chairs, academic and
professional programs, new facilities and
renovations to existing ones, including the
dramatic upgrading of the Navy-Marine
Corps Memorial Stadium.
During his tour as Superintendent,
the Faculty Senate unanimously passed a
resolution requesting that Admiral Ryan
remain for another four-year tour—a first
in Naval Academy history.
After retirement from the Navy,Admiral
Ryan joined the Naval Academy Foundation
Board of Directors and in 2009 became
chairman. He also launched a private sector
career in higher education, serving as the
president of State University of New York
Maritime, interim president of the University
at Albany and finally as chancellor of
State University of New York, the largest
comprehensive university in the United
States with 64 colleges and universities,
more than 80,000 faculty and staff and
425,000 students.
Admiral Ryan first arrived at the Naval
Academy as a plebe from Mountainhome,
PA, with his twin brother, Norb. He was
designated as a naval aviator in 1968 and
assigned to fly the P-3 Orion. The first in
his class to be promoted to flag officer,
Admiral Ryan, who earned a master’s
degree in Administration from George
Washington University, went on to serve as
commander of the Maritime Surveillance
and Reconnaissance Force, U.S. Sixth Fleet;
commander of Fleet Air Mediterranean;
and commander of Maritime Air Forces,
Mediterranean, headquartered in Naples, Italy,
where he was responsible for operational
control of six naval bases in three countries,
three military hospitals and all U.S. Maritime
Surveillance and Reconnaissance forces in
the Mediterranean.
Today Admiral Ryan is president and
CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership,
a nonprofit organization founded in 1970
and headquartered in Greensboro, NC, that
is a global provider of executive education.
He also writes for Bloomberg Businessweek
and The Washington Post.
Admiral Ryan and his wife, Diane,
have three daughters and five grandchildren.
They live in Greensboro, NC.
VICE ADMIRAL
JOHN R. RYAN ’67, USN (RET.)
“Knowing who has received this award previously and
all those talented graduates who deserve future recognition
makes the Distinguished Graduate Award a humbling
experience for me.”
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Crowning a remarkable career spanning
military service, the telecommunications
industry and the private equity world,
Daniel F. Akerson ’70 now has guided
General Motors (GM) from bankruptcy
to the largest initial public offering in
history and back onto a winning path as
its Chairman and CEO.
Born in California and reared in Mankato,
MN, the son of a Navy World War II and
Korean War veteran, Akerson served aboard
the destroyer DUPONT. Upon completing
his service, Akerson earned a master’s degree
from the London School of Economics
while working for Phillips Petroleum,
for which he played a critical role in the
development of the first oil fields in the
North Sea.
Akerson later rose through the ranks of
MCI Communications to become president
and chief operating officer and led the fight
to bring competition to consumers after the
Justice Department’s breakup of the AT&T
monopoly. Under his leadership, MCI
doubled its market share.
As chairman and CEO of General
Instrument Corporation, Akerson helped
usher in the high-definition television era
after the company won the U.S. standard
for HDTV service and then commercially
developed it.
He then took the helm of Nextel
Communications as its chairman and CEO
and turned the company into a national
competitor in the digital wireless market.
In the late 1990s, Akerson restructured
XO Communications and transitioned it
into a competitive position as well.
In 2003, Akerson joined The Carlyle
Group, a leading private equity firm, as
co-head of U.S. Buyout Group. He became
head of Global Buyout Group and managed
more than $50 billion in assets and more
than 200 portfolio companies with 600,000
employees around the world. He left that
job to answer the federal government’s call
to turn GM around.
The Treasury Department appointed
Akerson to the GM board as it emerged
from bankruptcy. When the CEO resigned
in 2010, Akerson was tapped to take the
reins. Today GM is solidly profitable.
Akerson received the 2010 McKenna
Humanitarian of the Year Award from
So Others Might Eat for his funding of
Marguerite’s Place, a Washington, DC-based
community center named for his mother.
He co-chaired with Roger Staubach ’65
the hugely successful 2001 Leaders to Serve
the Nation campaign. Akerson also served
on the advisory board of the College of
William and Mary Graduate School of
Business from 1995 to 2002, when he
received the Clarke Business Medallion.
He and his wife, Karin, have three
children and three grandchildren. They live
in Detroit, MI and McLean, VA.
MR.
DANIEL F. AKERSON ’70
“I am honored and humbled to receive this award from
the alumni, men and women whom I hold in the
highest regard.”
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Each Distinguished Graduate receives a medal to
commemorate the award.
PAST RECIPIENTS 1999-2011
1999Admiral Thomas H. Moorer ’33, USN (Ret.)
(1912-2004)
2000Dr. John J. McMullen ’40
(1918-2005)
Admiral James L. Holloway III ’43, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence ’51, USN (Ret.)(1930-2005)
Major General William A. Anders ’55, USAFR (Ret.)
Mr. Roger T. Staubach ’65
2001Captain John W. Crawford Jr. ’42, USN (Ret.)
Admiral William J. Crowe Jr. ’47, USN (Ret.)(1925-2007)
Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale ’47, USN (Ret.)(1923-2005)
Admiral James D. Watkins ’49, USN (Ret.)
Captain James A. Lovell ’52, USN (Ret.)
2002Vice Admiral Charles S. Minter Jr. ’37, USN (Ret.)
(1915-2008)
The Honorable James E. Carter Jr. ’47
Admiral Carlisle A.H. Trost ’53, USN (Ret.)
Colonel John W. Ripley ’62, USMC (Ret.)(1939-2008)
2003Ambassador William H.G. FitzGerald ’31
(1909-2006)
Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey ’35, USN (Ret.)(1913-2007)
Rear Admiral Robert W. McNitt ’38, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral William D. Houser ’42, USN (Ret.)(1921-2012)
2004Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak ’34, USMC (Ret.)
(1913-2008)
Vice Admiral Gerald E. Miller ’42, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral James F. Calvert ’43, USN (Ret.)(1920-2009)
Lieutenant General Charles G. Cooper ’50, USMC (Ret.)(1927-2009)
Rear Admiral Ronald F. Marryott ’57, USN (Ret.)(1934-2005)
2005Captain Slade D. Cutter ’35, USN (Ret.)
(1911-2005)
Rear Admiral Robert H. Wertheim ’46, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Ronald J. Hays ’50, USN (Ret.)
Mr. H. Ross Perot ’53
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For more information on the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association’s
Distinguished Graduate Award program and recipients, visit www.usna.com/dga.
2006Captain Thomas J. Hudner ’47, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Kinnaird R. McKee ’51, USN (Ret.)
General Robert T. Herres ’54, USAF (Ret.)(1932-2008)
Admiral Charles R. Larson ’58, USN (Ret.)
2007Rear Admiral Maurice H. Rindskopf ’38, USN (Ret.)
(1917-2011)
Admiral Thomas B. Hayward ’48, USN (Ret.)
Mr. Ralph W. Hooper ’51
Admiral Leighton W. Smith Jr. ’62, USN (Ret.)
2008Mr. James W. Kinnear III ’50
Admiral Frank B. Kelso II ’56, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya ’58, CEC, USN (Ret.)
Lieutenant General William M. Keys ’60, USMC (Ret.)
Admiral Henry G. Chiles Jr. ’60, USN (Ret.)
2009Mr. John E. Nolan ’50
Admiral Bruce DeMars ’57, USN (Ret.)
Mr. J. Ronald Terwilliger ’63
Admiral Joseph W. Prueher ’64, USN (Ret.)
General Peter Pace ’67, USMC (Ret.)
2010Mr. David J. Dunn ’55
Admiral Leon A. Edney ’57, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch ’64, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Joseph Paul Reason ’65, USN (Ret.)
General Carlton W. Fulford Jr. ’66, USMC (Ret.)
2011Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker ’56, USN (Ret.)
Dr. Bradford N. Parkinson ’57
Lieutenant General Matthew T. Cooper ’58, USMC (Ret.)
Mr. Corbin A. McNeill Jr ’62
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Now colleges from sea to sea, may sing of colors true,
But who has better right than we, to hoist a symbol hue?
For Sailors brave in battle fair, since fighting days of old
Have proved the Sailor’s right to wear, the Navy Blue and Gold.
NAVY BLUE & GOLD
To serve and support the United States, the Naval Service, the Naval Academy
and its Alumni; By furthering the highest standards at the Naval Academy;
By seeking out, informing, encouraging and assisting outstanding,
qualified young men and women to pursue careers as officers in the
Navy and Marine Corps through the Naval Academy; and, By initiating
and sponsoring activities which will perpetuate the history, traditions,
memories and growth of the Naval Academy and bind Alumni together in
support of the highest ideals of command, citizenship and government.
Serving the Alma Mater and its Alumni since 1886
USNA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MISSION
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