2016 Naval Academy Distinguished Graduates Announced

ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Naval Academy Alumni Association will honor three Naval Academy alumni at the 18^th Annual Distinguished Graduate Award ceremony on April 1 at 4:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall at the United States Naval Academy. The ceremony will be attended by the Brigade of Midshipmen; Naval Academy Superintendent Admiral Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr. '81, USN, and Admiral Robert J. Natter '67, USN (Ret.), chairman of the Naval Academy Alumni Association.

Each recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Graduate Award has demonstrated commitment to a lifetime of service and has made significant contributions to the U.S. Naval Academy, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the nation.

The 2016 recipients are: Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn '51, USN (Ret.); The Honorable John H. Dalton '64, and Captain Carl H. June '75, USN (Ret.).

"Our 2016 Distinguished Graduates join an elite group of leaders who are outstanding role models for our Brigade of Midshipmen," said Byron F. Marchant '78, president and CEO of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation. "While their careers and achievements span a range of fields and disciplines, they share a profound commitment of service to the Naval Academy, the Navy and Marine Corps, their communities and our country."

Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn '51, USN (Ret.), former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare. A naval aviator who flew 255 combat missions during the Vietnam War, Admiral Dunn accumulated more than 9,000 hours of flying time including 934 carrier landings, the last made in the F/A-18C when he was 60 years old. His 38-year career included assignments as Carrier Group Commander; Commander, Naval Military Personnel Command; Chief of Naval Reserve and Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. In retirement, he has served as an aerospace consultant, media commentator, author, deputy chairman of the NASA Aerospace Advisory Panel, member of several FAA advisory boards, chairman of a GSA Blue Ribbon Panel examining safety in non-DoD government flight operations, president of the Naval Historical Foundation and the Association of Naval Aviation and as an active Alumni Association volunteer as a past class president and chairman of the Alumni Association Plan 2020 Committee.

The Honorable John H. Dalton '64, 70th Secretary of the Navy. Dalton received naval nuclear power training and served aboard submarines Blueback and John C. Calhoun. He attained the rank of lieutenant while on active duty and was promoted to lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve. Dalton began his private sector career with investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and later returned to government service as president of the Government National Mortgage Association, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and member and later chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. He returned to the finance industry with leadership positions with the Gill Companies, Freedom Capital Corporation, Mason Best Company and Stephens Inc. President Bill Clinton nominated Dalton as Secretary of the Navy in 1993, a position he held until 1998. He served as president of IPG Photonics, a fiberoptics corporation, from 2000 to 2004 and in January 2005 became president of the Housing Policy Council of the Financial Services Roundtable, where he continues to serve.

Captain Carl H. June '75, MC, USN (Ret.), the Richard W. Vague Professor of Immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. After graduating from the Academy, Captain June earned his M.D. at Baylor College of Medicine. Embarking on a career in medical research, Captain June held appointments with the Naval Medical Research Institute/Office of Naval Research, Bethesda Naval Hospital and the Uniformed Services University before establishing his lab at the University of Pennsylvania. He has made significant contributions to improving treatments for cancer and is best known for his revolutionary approach to gene therapy for leukemia, one The New York Times called "a turning point in the long struggle to develop effective gene therapies against cancer."

For more information, please visit www.usna.com/dga.

Contact: Samantha Casamassima 
Communications Specialist
U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
[email protected]
703.618.6016

To attend the ceremony or request an interview with an honoree, please contact Samantha Casamassima (contact details above).

SOURCE United States Naval Academy Alumni Association