College Leadership & Board of Advisors

The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) is an educational institution within the Department of the Navy. The President of the college is accountable directly to the Chief of Naval Operations, who establishes the college's mission, provides general guidelines and appropriated funds for its operation, and selects the president of NWC.

President

Shoshana S. Chatfield

Rear Adm., U.S. Navy

Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield is the President of the U.S. Naval War College and a career naval helicopter pilot. A native of Garden Grove, California, she graduated from Boston University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and French language and literature. She received her commission through Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) in 1988 and earned her wings of gold in 1989. Chatfield was awarded the Navy’s Political/Military (Pol-Mil) Scholarship and attended the Kennedy School of Government, receiving a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University in 1997. In 2009, the University of San Diego conferred upon her a doctorate of education.

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Vice President/Chief of Staff

Joseph C. Girard

Capt., U.S. Navy

Capt. Girard is Vice President and Chief of Staff for U.S. Naval War College. He has more than 3,000 flight hours in the F/A-18 aircraft. His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (with Combat “V” distinction), seven Strike-Flight Air Medals, four Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and various unit and campaign decorations.

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Interim Provost

James E. Hickey

Jay Hickey is a 1980 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He holds graduate degrees from Troy University and King's College, London and a Ph.D. from Salve Regina University. A career Naval Flight Officer, prior to joining the S&P faculty in 2000, he taught for three years at the U.K.’s Joint Services Command and Staff College. He joined the College of Distance Education in 2005 to help launch the Navy Knowledge Online-based series of PME courses. From 2007 until 2010, he served as the non-resident graduate degree program manager and then served as the director of CDE. He served as the associate provost from July 2015 and assumed his current duties in March 2021.

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Command Master Chief

Joseph D. Fahrney

Master Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Navy

Command Master Chief Fahrney enlisted in the Navy in 1990. He holds a Bachelor of Science in education (magna cum laude) from Valdosta State University and a Master of Science in leadership (with distinction) from Roger Williams University. Fahrney’s military education and training include the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy (Class 126), CMC/COB Capstone Course (Class 31) and Senior Shore Station Leadership Program. He is a 2010 Keystone Graduate of the National Defense University, 2015 graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School Navy Senior Leader Seminar and a 2021 graduate of the strategic thinking seminar at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Administration.

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Office of the Provost

Thomas J. Gibbons

Associate Provost

Rick Menard

Deputy Provost / Director of Mission Support

Edward J. Gillen

Director of Institutional Effectiveness

Deans

Allen C. Benson

Henry E. Eccles Library

Leonard Walter Wildemann

College of Distance Education

Margaret DeLuca Klein

College of Leadership and Ethics

Peter Alan Dutton

Center for Naval Warfare Studies

Phil M. Haun

Dean of Academics

Thomas E. Mangold Jr.

International Programs

Cindy Dieterly

Dean of Students

Edward B. Cashman

College of Maritime Operational Warfare

Deputies

Tim Garrold

College of Distance Education

Michael J. Sherlock

Dean of Academics

Sean P. Henseler

College of Maritime Operational Warfare

Robert S. Winneg

International Programs

William J. Nault

College of Leadership and Ethics

Robert Wayne Tomlinson

College of Distance Education

James A. Schnelle

Center for Naval Warfare Studies

Brian D. Doherty

Dean of Students

Senior Service Advisors

Stuart D. Furner

U.S. Army

Steven L. Shinkel

U.S. Air Force & Space Force

Sean Fahey

U.S. Coast Guard

Craig R. Wonson

U.S. Marine Corps

Cindy Dieterly

U.S. Navy

Linda Stuart Specht

State Department

U.S. Naval War College Board of Advisors, Ex Officio

John Nowell Jr.

Vice Adm., U.S. Navy

With degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School, Vice Adm. John Nowell Jr. has had several destroyer operational tours and commands, including USS Porter (DDG 78), Destroyer Squadron 60/Task Force 65, and international commands in Lebanon and Africa. Nowell served on the staff for assignments in Washington D.C. and as director of the Navy Senate Liaison Office. He has had many positions as a flag officer, most recently as the Navy’s 59th Chief of Naval Personnel in 2019, serving concurrently as the deputy chief of naval operations, responsible for the planning and programming of all manpower, personnel, training, and education resources for the U.S. Navy.

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U.S. Naval War College, 686 Cushing Road, Newport, RI 02841

College Leadership & Board of Advisors

President

Shoshana S. Chatfield

Vice President/Chief of Staff

Joseph C. Girard

Interim Provost

James E. Hickey

Command Master Chief

Joseph D. Fahrney

Office of the Provost

Deans

Deputies

Senior Service Advisors

U.S. Naval War College Board of Advisors, Ex Officio

John Nowell Jr.

About U.S. Naval War College

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