Extra chairs had to be carried into the recital hall at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Sept. 30, when a retired Navy rear admiral who once ran NOAA came to talk about leading through rough weather.
Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., USN (ret.), spoke on “Marine Science & Technology Leadership in Turbulent Times” at the Dodge Performing Arts Center. The evening was hosted by The Patuxent Partnership (TPP) and the Steny H. Hoyer Center for the Study of Democracy, according to a TPP news release dated Oct. 5. TPP said the hall filled with college students, alumni, TPP members and colleagues.
Sahar Shafqat, dean and professor of political science and public policy at the college, gave a brief introduction. The college directory also lists her as interim director of the Hoyer Center.
TPP said Gallaudet described his career, which includes marine sciences, “with great humility” and walked through the leadership lessons he set down in his book. The release describes his Navy service as 35 years as an oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy. Public biographies put it at about 32 years, from 1985 to his 2017 retirement, so the Chronicle is not repeating a specific figure here.
He then took 30 minutes of audience questions, many from marine science students. Afterward, people waiting in the book-signing line told TPP the lecture was inspirational, and that he stayed to chat and answer more questions.
Who Gallaudet is
Gallaudet holds a bachelor’s degree in oceanography from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s and doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, according to his Force Blue bio. After retiring from the Navy, he was confirmed by the Senate and took office Oct. 25, 2017, as assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, a post he held until Jan. 20, 2021, according to Wikipedia. He also served as acting NOAA administrator until February 2019, when Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross replaced him in that role with Neil Jacobs on short notice.
Today he is CEO of Ocean STL Consulting and, since July 2025, a trustee of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
The book
Holding Fast in Heavy Seas: Leadership for Turbulent Times, published by Koehler Books, is listed by Target with a July 7, 2026 publication date and 372 pages. The Hoyer Center’s event listing says the foreword is by ocean explorer Robert Ballard. In an April interview with the American Meteorological Society, Gallaudet said he wrote it to share leadership lessons colleagues asked about during his NOAA years. The interview says the book includes previously unpublished details about “Sharpiegate” and about leading through political turbulence.
The hosts
TPP is a nonprofit membership organization in Lexington Park, near Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Its release says it works with government, industry and academia on science and technology initiatives, hosts programs of interest to NAVAIR and the wider Defense Department community, and supports workforce development and education. The Hoyer Center, according to the college, explores historical and contemporary issues around democracy, liberty and justice.
This was not the first time TPP tried to bring Gallaudet to Southern Maryland. A Feb. 28, 2024 TPP program on the U.S. blue economy with Gallaudet, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, was cancelled for what TPP called “unforeseen circumstances.”
TPP called the Sept. 30 evening a very successful lecture and book signing and thanked the media for helping spread the word.
