Vice Admiral Paul Golden Gaffney II, United States Navy, was the seventh president of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, from 2003 to 2013, becoming president emeritus August 1, 2013.
Education
Gaffney graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1968. He completed a year as a student and advanced research fellow at the Naval War College, graduating with highest distinction. He completed an Master of Business Administration at Jacksonville University.
Career
He was succeeded as Monmouth University president by Doctor Paul R. Brown. Upon graduation, he was selected for immediate graduate education and received a master"s degree in Ocean Engineering from The Catholic University of America in Washington, District of Columbia The University of South Carolina, Jacksonville University, and The Catholic University of America have awarded him honorary doctorates. He was president of the National Defense University from 2000 to 2003.
In July 2001 he was appointed by the President to the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, and served through the full term of the Commission until 2004.
In August 2009, Gaffney was named the chair of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP), a panel created by statute to advise federal agencies regarding ocean science and management matters. In 2012 he co-chaired the Decadal Review of the United States Ocean Exploration Program.
In October 2014, he was appointed as the first chair of new Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (OAEB). Gaffney"s naval career spanned over three decades including duty at sea, overseas, and ashore in executive and command positions.
He served in Japan, Vietnam, Spain, and Indonesia.
While a military officer, his career focused on oceanography. He is the eponym of Gaffney Ridge, an undersea ridge in the South China Sea, 220 miles west of the Philippines (located at Latitude 13° 23" 00" North and Longitude 118° 32" 00" East). He is a director of Diamond Offshore Drilling Incorporated., and currently serves as a Fellow of the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University, and on the leadership council of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
In 2010, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for technical leadership in naval research and development and its impact on United States. defense, ocean policy, and the Arctic.
Gaffney retired from Monmouth University in August 2013. His contributions to the success of Monmouth University and its athletic programs during his tenure were noted in a February 2016 retrospective.
Following his retirement from Monmouth University, Gaffney has remained active in academia, and was the guest speaker at the hooding ceremony for master"s and doctoral graduates of the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in May 2014. On June 13, 2015, Gaffney was honored by the Aquarium of the Pacific with a 2015 Ocean Conservation Award.".
Membership
He has served on several boards of higher education and was a member of the Ocean Studies Board of the United States National Research Council.