SUNY Maritime to have its first woman president

Rear Admiral Wendi Carpenter, USN, has been appointed president of SUNY Maritime College. She will be the first woman to hold that post. Admiral Carpenter is currently serving as the Commander of the Navy’s Warfare Development Command. The State University of New York  Board of Trustees voted on her appointment at a special meeting held on Thursday, June 30, 2011.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher  said, “Admiral Carpenter’s 30-plus years of naval experience and leadership make her ideally suited to be the next president of SUNY Maritime, where she is certain to enhance the college’s national reputation for excellence in academic, athletic, and leadership training. Admiral Carpenter is among the Navy’s elite, and she will be an outstanding addition to the SUNY leadership team.”

The first maritime school in the country, SUNY Maritime College is located at Fort Schuyler in Throgs Neck, New York. It prepares students for careers in the maritime industry, government, military, and private industry. Recent graduates of Maritime  College have benefited from nearly 100% job placement .

Admiral Carpenter was among the first women to be designated as a naval aviator. Graduating from flight school at the top of her class, she was selected for immediate duty as the first selectively retained graduate instructor pilot in the T-44 advanced multi-engine pipeline. In 2005, she became the Navy’s first woman aviator promoted to the rank of admiral.

Admiral  Carpenter is the daughter of an Air Force veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Raised throughout the United States, she graduated from the University of Georgia in 1976 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology.

Carpenter was commissioned in 1978 through Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla., and in July 1979 was designated a Naval Aviator. Graduating at the top of her class, she was assigned as the Navy’s first selectively retained graduate instructor pilot (SERGRAD) in the T-44 aircraft at VT-31, NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1981, she was ordered to sea duty with the “Ironmen” of VQ-3, NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii, where she served as a mission commander, aircraft commander, and instructor pilot in the EC-130 F/G/Q aircraft. Carpenter deployed throughout the Pacific, western United States, and Alaska. She completed a shore tour as an aviation assignments officer in Washington, D.C, and, in 1985, accepted a Reserve component commission.

Carpenter has held a total of five commands at the commander, captain, and flag level in the areas of logistics, training, and aviation in fleet, joint, and coalition operations,.  Carpenter has accepted numerous recalls to active duty, including her current assignment. In June 2008, she assumed command of Navy Warfare Development Command where she and her team work to deliver capability for Navy, joint, and coalition forces through concept generation and development, doctrine, modeling and simulation, and experimentation.  Previous flag assignments include deputy commander, Navy Region Southeast; acting director, OPNAV N31 (Information, Plans, and Security); vice director, Standing Joint Forces HQ, U.S. Joint Forces Command; and deputy commander, Second Fleet. She has represented the United States in a number of coalition and NATO forums in Europe and Africa.

Carpenter has pursued graduate studies in marketing and holds a master of arts in international relations from Salve Regina University. She is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College and completed Capstone 06-02, as well as executive programs in business, strategic planning, and innovation at National Defense University, Defense Acquisition University, University of North Carolina Business School, Chapel Hill, and Babson College. She has accumulated over 3,500 military flight hours.

Carpenter’s awards include Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3), Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (5), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit awards. She is most proud of the FY01 DON CIO Award for “e-Business” in government, which was won by the 75-member team she led as Commanding Officer, DCNO N4, Fleet Readiness and Logistics.

July 6, 2011