Monmouth University President Emeritus and Urban Coast Institute Ocean Policy Fellow Paul G. Gaffney II has been appointed as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Committee on Defense Research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSI).
The committee was formed to examine the status of defense research at HBCUs and MSIs and the methods and means necessary to advance research capacity at those institutions to address national security and defense needs. Gaffney’s term will extend through March of 2022.
“I am honored to have been selected to participate in this important and timely study,” said Gaffney, who served as Monmouth University’s president for a decade.
Gaffney is a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral and a former president of the National Defense University. While in the Navy he also served as chief of naval research and commander of naval meteorology and oceanography. He was appointed as a commissioner with the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and served during its full term. The National Academy of Engineering selected him as a member in 2010.
The new committee will examine:
- The degree to which MSIs and other covered institutions are successful in competing for and executing Department of Defense (DOD) contracts and grants for research.
- Promising practices for advancing the capacity of covered institutions to compete for and conduct research programs related to national security and defense, including incentives to attract, recruit and retain leading research faculty.
- The effectiveness of DOD in attracting and retaining students specializing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields from covered institutions for its programs on emerging capabilities and technologies.
The committee will produce a final report that includes its findings and recommendations. The body will serve under the oversight of the National Academies Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW).