Ann E. Rondeau brings a distinguished military, academic, and industry record of leadership, expertise, and transformation to the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). With decades of service in the U.S. Navy, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to national security, defense innovation, and the education of military leaders.

Ann’s career includes leadership in high-impact and pioneering roles. The breadth and depth of her knowledge and insight on Naval and Joint service operations comes from overseeing forces in air operations, antisubmarine warfare, maritime and joint logistics, intelligence, shore installations and strategic planning. As a senior military leader, she successfully led complex organizations, ensured mission readiness and operational excellence, and has extensive experience running the business operations of the Navy, ranging in value from $300M to billions annually.

Ann’s early leadership tours included operations officer for VP-50 antisubmarine patrol squadron, officer-in-charge of Military Sealift Command (MSC) Unit (New Orleans), and a battalion officer at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Throughout her naval career, Ann contributed to transformational concepts and strategic planning roles, including on the CNO’s Strategic Studies Group, on the CNO staff NATO Branch working on the Maritime Strategy, and the OSD policy planning, policy analysis, and Africa Region offices. She was also selected as a White House Fellow at the Department of Justice, and at the request and direction of the United States Attorney General, Ann served as the AG’s National Security Advisor for two years.

She has also held many senior command positions to include commanding officer, Naval Support Activity, La Maddalena, Italy, commanding officer, Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington, Tennessee, and the first commander of Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) Great Lakes, Illinois, upon its establishment as a consolidated training command in 2003. NSTC oversees initial enlisted and officer Navy accessions, which includes the Navy’s only boot camp, NROTC, NJROTC, and all officer accessions outside the Unites States Naval Academy. In this role, Ann oversaw the $1.5B recapitalization of Recruit Training Command and the installation of the transformational “Battle Stations” final capstone event where recruits become Sailors.

Following these tours, Rondeau assumed command of Naval Personnel Development Command in 2004, and later became the director of Navy Staff in 2005. In 2006, she assumed duties as deputy commander of U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, enhancing military logistics and global mobility critical to maintaining U.S. strategic advantage.

A forward-leaning leader in defense education, Ann’s active-duty service culminated as President of the National Defense University where she led efforts to modernize the institution, enhance the professional military education, and align programs with emerging security challenges.

After leaving the Navy, Ann served as an independent consultant with IBM’s leading-edge cognitive computing project, The Watson Group. She assisted the DOD and other federal agencies in defining applications for artificial intelligence, cognitive computing and machine learning.

She was then recruited to be the President of the College of DuPage (Illinois), with a mandate to re-establish executive integrity, institutional reputation, a positive culture and public trust, address funding shortfalls, restore financial accountability, and regain full accreditation for one of the largest single campus community colleges in the country ($325M operation/32,000 student/1400 faculty).

In 2019, Ann was appointed by the Secretary of the Navy as the 13th President of NPS, and the 50^th head of the institution since its founding in 1909. As a naval command with a graduate university mission, Ann ensures the NPS graduate education of mid-career warfighters is relevant and impactful. NPS research plays a vital role at the graduate level resolving complex defense operational problems and capability needs while ensuring faculty and their curricula stays at the cutting edge. NPS has an average student enrollment of 2,500 students comprised of U.S. and international military, and DOD and federal agency civilians, and operates with a faculty and staff of about 850 military and civilian personnel. With an eye on delivering capability, and at the direction of three Secretaries of the Navy, Ann is leading a transformational project of establishing NPS as the future home for the Naval Innovation Center to accelerating emerging technology capability solutions at greater speed and scale.

Ann’s formal education includes a B.A. in History and Social Science from Eisenhower College, an M.A. in Comparative Government from Georgetown University, and a Doctorate in Education from Northern Illinois University.

She has received numerous awards for leadership and public service including an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Carthage College (Wisconsin), and the Jefferson-Lincoln Leadership Award in 2024.

Ann’s tenure at NPS was extended an additional five years in 2024 to continue driving forward a vision for the institution that integrates advanced military-relevant education, applied research, and innovation to strategic problem-solving ensuring that NPS remains a vital capability for the Department of the Navy and a force multiplier for U.S. military and allied capabilities.

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In her pro bono and Board service, Ann has served on succession, membership, governance, audit, compensation and strategic planning committees. She has been a speaker for many years on wide-ranging and myriad subjects, including military strategy and mission, political-military affairs, military-civilian affairs, ethics, public policy analysis and research in the public domain, education and training, and most importantly leadership.

Activities include: Board of Directors for the German Marshall Fund; National Museum of the American Sailors; Council of Higher Education Accreditation; Chicago Regional Growth Corporation; Choose DuPage (regional development organization for Chicago northwest suburbs); served as Vice Chair for the Board of Trustees, American Public University System; and presently serves on two boards within Quanta Services, a $38B utilities distribution and transmission company.

Ann has also supported The Atlantic Council as an advisor to the Canadian Defense College Foundation; accreditation committees for the United States Naval Academy and the University of Memphis; the Tennessee/Mid-South Economic Development Board; DoD liaison to the Center for the Study of the Presidency; Military Advisory Board; Flag Officer Advisory Council for Arizona State University; Board of Trustees for Princeton Theological Seminary; Yorktown Institute; and the Arlington National Cemetery Committee

(Does not constitute endorsement of organizations mentioned by the Naval Postgraduate School, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of Defense)