U.S. Naval War College (NWC) President Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield visited the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) to get an up-close look at the NWC Monterey program on the NPS campus, Jan. 29-30. During her visit, she met with NWC faculty and students, explored NPS’ Wargaming Activity Hub, and looked at various innovations in classroom and distance learning technologies.
A key topic of conversation during the engagement was the Navy’s soon-to-be released Education for Seapower strategy, and the role the small cohort of expert NWC faculty play in preparing officers across the DOD to advance warfighter effectiveness, in the most efficient means possible. Recently completing two decades of service, the NWC Monterey program has provided more than 5,500 NPS students with the very same Joint Professional Military Education credit that they would receive in Newport.
“I value life-long learning,” Chatfield said during a meeting with NWC faculty. She recalled how, as a pilot, her focus was constantly on operations, on being in the cockpit. With the E4S study and report, she said, the Navy is placing a high value on education and intellectual development. That is the space of the War College and NPS, she noted, to tailor educational programs that “continue to develop innovation and intellectual ability.”
According to Fred Drake, NWC Monterey Chair, Chatfield expressed keen interest in how NPS is focused on educational effectiveness, using enhanced instructional design, integrating technology, and researching new teaching methodologies that may be directly applied while maintaining the quality of the education.
“Rear Adm. Chatfield is whole heartedly looking to pull teaching programs into the 21st century, especially those in NWC’s College of Distance Education,” said Drake. “Due to the timing of her visit, Chatfield was able to see and discuss new innovations in classroom environments being introduced on a small scale here at NPS.”
In addition to classroom innovations, Chatfield toured the campus receiving briefs from various departments, including the Common Operational Research Environment Laboratory, the Executive Master’s in Business Administration program, and the cyber operations degree programs.