ARLINGTON, Va.—Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, the U.S. Navy's chief of naval research, will be the keynote speaker at Savannah State University's 178th commencement ceremony 10 a.m. May 7 at the noted Georgia institution's Tiger Arena.
Carr, who oversees the Office of Naval Research (ONR)—the Navy and Marine Corps' science and technology provider—said he plans to encourage graduates to embrace change.
"I am excited and honored about addressing the 275 candidates for graduation at Savannah State," Carr said. "The Navy's long partnership with Savannah State has helped produce some great naval and academic leaders."
Carr has spent his Navy career at sea in cruisers and destroyers, deploying to the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, North and South Atlantic, South Pacific, Baltic, Caribbean and Red seas.
Ashore, Carr has served in the office of the Secretary of Defense where he worked on the Arleigh Burke, Ticonderoga and Seawolf programs and several Ballistic Missile Defense programs.
Carr graduated in 1979 from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor's degree in naval architecture. He received his master's degree in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
In December 2008, he became the 22nd chief of naval research, with additional duties as director, Test and Evaluation and Technology Requirements.
Established in 1890, Savannah State University is the oldest public historically black college and university (HBCU) in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in Savannah. The university has more than 4,000 students enrolled in 23 undergraduate and five graduate programs in three colleges: Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Business Administration and Sciences and Technology.
Aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of future naval scientists and engineers, ONR and the Navy have a history of supporting and partnering with HBCUs and Minority Institutions, such as Savannah State University.