Paul G. Gaffney II

Vice Admiral Paul G. Gaffney II, USN (Ret.), was the seventh president of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, from 2003 to 2013, becoming president emeritus August 1, 2013. He was succeeded as Monmouth University president by Dr. Paul R. Brown.

Gaffney graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1968. 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, D.C. He completed a year as a student and advanced research fellow at the Naval War College, graduating with highest distinction. He completed an M.B.A. at Jacksonville University. 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. Prior to assuming those duties, Admiral Gaffney was the Chief of Naval Research with responsibility for science and technology investment. In July, 2001 he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, and served through the full term of the Commission until 2004. On August 12, 2009, Gaffney was named the new chair of the Ocean Research & Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP), a panel created by statute to advise federal agencies regarding ocean science and management matters.

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, research administration, and education.

He is the eponym of Gaffney Ridge, an undersea ridge in the South China Sea, about 220 miles west of the Philippines (located at Latitude 13° 23' 00" N and Longitude 118° 32' 00" E).

Gaffney is the recipient of a number of military decorations, the Naval War College's J. William Middendorf Prize for Strategic Research, the Outstanding Public Service Award from the Virginia Research and Technology Consortium, and the Potomac Institutes's Navigator Award. He has served on several boards of higher education and is a member of the Ocean Studies Board of the United States National Research Council. He is a Public Trustee for the New Jersey Consortium and a member of the Governor's Commission to Protect and Enhance New Jersey's Military Bases. He currently serves on the Meridian Health Board of Trustees.

In February 2012, Gaffney announced his intention to retire as president of Monmouth University at the end of June, 2013.