Retired Vice Admiral Nora Tyson to give Margaret Chase Smith Public Affairs Lecture Oct. 2

The importance of leadership will be the focus of this year’s Senator Margaret Chase Smith Public Affairs Lecture, to be given by retired Vice Admiral Nora Tyson at the University of Maine Oct. 2.

Tyson’s lecture, “Margaret Chase Smith and Me: The Importance of Leadership,” will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Hauck Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are available online.

Tyson served over 38 years on active duty in the United States Navy, retiring as a Vice Admiral. The Memphis native earned her Naval Flight Officer wings in 1983, and is a 1995 graduate of the U.S. Naval War College with a master’s degree in national security and strategic affairs.  

An aviator by specialty, Tyson served three operational flying tours in Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron FOUR, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, including one as Commanding Officer. The squadron provides secure communications between National Command Authorities and our nation’s nuclear forces.

Tyson’s last active duty assignment was Commander, U.S. Third Fleet, from July 2015 to September 2017, commanding all Naval Forces on the West Coast to the international dateline, comprised of about 110 ships, 400 aircraft and 60,000 people.  Her military awards include: Navy Distinguished Service Medal (2), Defense Superior Service Medal (2), Legion of Merit (5), Meritorious Service Medal (3), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2) and various unit awards.

UMaine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center brings to campus a person of national status in the field of civic and public life to deliver a lecture. The Senator Margaret Chase Smith Lectureship on Public Affairs was endowed in 1989 by the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation in honor of Sen. Smith’s contributions to Maine and the nation.

Contact: Cleo Barker, 207.581.3729