Under Secretary of the Army to address Cameron's graduating class

By Press releaseMarch 31, 2011

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(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

LAWTON, Okla.--Under Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal, Ph.D., will deliver the commencement address to Cameron University's Class of 2011. The annual graduation ceremony is slated for Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Cameron Stadium. Following Westphal's address, graduates will receive their diplomas. A gala fireworks display will cap off the occasion. The public is invited to attend.

"We are honored that Under Secretary Westphal will address our 2011 graduates," says Cindy Ross, Cameron president. "His distinguished record of public service and his ability to serve in a variety of sectors will inspire this year's graduates as they celebrate the culmination of their academic experience during Commencement."

As the Under Secretary, he was designated as the Army's first chief management officer -charged with finding more efficient and effective day-to-day business practices. In 2001, he served as the Acting Secretary of the Army, and from 1998 to 2001, he served as the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works.

He has had extensive experience working with the U.S. Congress and other departments within the executive branch. He served as the senior policy advisor for water resources at the Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton administration. He also worked in the Congress in various capacities, from directing a bi-partisan congressional caucus in the House and Senate to working as a budget analyst and assistant to the chairman of the House committee on the budget and serving on members' staff. Earlier in his public service career, Westphal worked as a policy advisor to the Secretary in the Department of the Interior.

In academia, Westphal served as chancellor of the University of Maine system and professor of political science at the university. He also served as the provost, senior vice president for research and professor of environmental studies at the New School in New York City. He stepped down from that position to serve as a member of President Obama's transition team for defense matters in December 2008.

He spent his first 12 years in academia as a faculty member at Oklahoma State University, where he worked as a professor of political science, later becoming head of that department. During his many years of public service, DrWestphal taught public policy as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

Westphal received his bachelor's degree from Adelphi University, his master's degree from Oklahoma State University, and his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.