Former NASA Administrator and United States Secretary of the Navy Sean O’Keefe is set to hold the title of University Professor.

Syracuse University Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina announced O’Keefe’s appointment as the 17th University Professor last week. O’Keefe has also been named the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

O’Keefe, who is also an SU alumnus, has had an accomplished career spanning more than 35 years of work in non-profit organizations, the private sector, higher education and the United States government. A few of the many high positions O’Keefe has held over the years include former administrator of NASA, chancellor of Louisiana State University, former United States Secretary of the Navy and chief executive officer of Airbus Group Inc. He was also previously a professor at Maxwell and served as director of the National Security Studies Program.

Spina said the courses O’Keefe will be teaching are yet to be determined. They will most likely be leadership courses available to students of multiple programs, especially those in public administration. Some may be newly designed to suit O’Keefe’s expertise.

O’Keefe said his favorite part during his past times of working as a faculty member was working with students.

“It’s the most rewarding part because it reminds you that the next generation wants to make a difference,” O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe said he also plans to specifically engage graduate students through academic experiences such as graduate assistants and fellowships.

The Phanstiel chair was created in 2006 to train SU students for future careers as government leaders and innovative thinkers. As Phanstiel chair, O’Keefe said he also has the opportunity to bridge SU with strategic and management think tanks in Washington, D.C.

After the decision for O’Keefe to become the Phanstiel chair was made, Spina began questioning what O’Keefe’s appointment might mean to the whole university.

He spoke with Dean James Steinberg of the Maxwell School about expanding O’Keefe’s appointment to place him in a position where he could interact with students all over the university.

“We wanted to make him accessible to the university, given the knowledge that he has, so that his appointment could impact the entire university,” Spina said.

Spina said he believes that through his new appointment, O’Keefe will both educate and inspire students to do great things after leaving Syracuse.

In response to the announcement of his new appointment, O’Keefe said he believes that he will have the chance to find common ground between various programs through his new appointment.

“It’s a tremendous honor and a wonderful opportunity to work with students. It is quite a distinction and an extraordinary opportunity, “ O’Keefe said.

For O’Keefe, he said it’s a dream come true to come back to his alma mater. O’Keefe said that the foundations of his professional career are grounded in SU and he hopes to give back to the SU community.

Spina said he believes that it is an incredible opportunity for the university to have someone as accomplished as O’Keefe, who has such a student centered attitude and spirit, to hold the position.

“Someone who has not only lived an academic life, but he’s had responsibilities in the highest of positions and has dealt with a lot of opportunities to be a leader,” Spina said. “It’s hard to think of anyone better for the position of (Phanstiel chair) in terms of strategic management and leadership.”

He said he also looks forward to collaborating with faculty members that he met 15 years ago when he was a Maxwell School professor. O’Keefe also said his new position allows him to work with many other people who are every bit as stellar as the colleagues that he worked with when he was previously at SU.

Said O’Keefe: “I am delighted to be back. It will be a great to be a part of a community that I have always had a fondness for.”

Published on November 18, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Katelyn: kmfaubel@syr.edu