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President's Biography

PAUL G. GAFFNEY II

President

Monmouth University

West Long Branch, New Jersey

Paul G. Gaffney II became the seventh president of Monmouth University in July 2003.

President Gaffney, a retired Navy Vice Admiral, is a respected academic leader and proponent. He was president of the National Defense University from 2000 to 2003. Prior to assuming those duties, he was the Chief of Naval Research with responsibility for science and technology investment, a substantial part of which supported basic research in American universities. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Ocean Policy Commission in July 2001, and served during its full tenure from 2001 to 2004.

His distinguished naval career spanned over three decades including duty at sea, overseas, and ashore in executive and command positions. He served in Japan, Vietnam, Spain, and Indonesia, and traveled extensively in official capacities. While a military officer, his career focused on oceanography, research administration, and education.

President Gaffney is a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Upon graduation, he was selected for immediate graduate education and received a master's degree in Ocean Engineering from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He completed a year as a student and advanced research fellow at the Naval War College, graduating with highest distinction. He completed an M.B.A. at Jacksonville University. The University of South Carolina, Jacksonville University, and Catholic University have awarded him honorary doctorates.

He has been recognized with a number of military decorations, the Naval War College's J. William Middendorf Prize for Strategic Research, the Outstanding Public Service Award from the Virginia Research and Technology Consortium, and the Potomac Institute's Navigator Award. He has served on several boards of higher education and is a member of the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council. He has been selected to be a Public Trustee for the New Jersey Consortium and the Governor's Commission to Protect and Enhance New Jersey's Military Bases, and serves on the Meridian Health Board of Trustees.

He is married to Linda, and they are the parents of Crista Gaffney, a marketing professional in northern Virginia.