USNA News Article

Naval Academy Announces New Associate Dean

Feb 16, 2012

By Danian Douglas

The U.S. Naval Academy recently selected Jennifer K. Waters as the next associate dean for academic affairs. Waters’ tenure will begin Jan. 1, 2013.

Waters, a native of Shoreham, N.Y., has been working at the academy for more than 17 years. She is currently chair of the academy’s Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering department.

Waters is the first female to chair an engineering department and the first to be appointed associate dean of academic affairs.

“If you take away military rank, who you know, or where you’re from, the only thing you have left is your mind,” she said. “I believe the development of it is very important to our students.”

Waters graduated from the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. She earned a master’s in ocean engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1993 and a Ph.D. from the same institution in 1995.

Waters has received numerous awards for her work, including the 2002 Young Engineer of the Year Award from the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies, the Naval Academy’s Apgar Award for excellence in teaching, and the Stevens Institute’s John P. Breslin Award for outstanding research accomplishments in ocean engineering.

Waters is looking forward to taking on her new role, she said.

“I’m thrilled yet humble,” she said. “I’m very excited and definitely ready for it, but I know it comes with a lot of responsibility. I’m sure the coming months will hold some surprises along the way.”

“It’s a great testament to our institution that so many outstanding candidates can be found right here in the yard, and that all of them are so well qualified to contribute and lead at the highest levels,” said Academic Dean and Provost Andrew Phillips.

Waters said that she is looking forward to having a focused role in more than just core academics by supporting programs such as the academic center, remedial programs that help students who are struggling, and graduate education programs that give further opportunities to top-performing students.