Admiral Mike Mullen to Give Commencement Address at Pardee RAND Graduate School Ceremony

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will give the commencement address at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

Mullen will speak about how RAND graduates' analysis can make a real-world impact on national security during a time of great change.

Mullen is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Armed Forces and the President's principal military advisor. Prior to this duty, Mullen served as the 28th Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), the Navy's top uniformed leader and representative to the JCS.

The Pardee RAND Graduate School is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Founded in 1970 as one of the original eight graduate programs in public policy, the school was the only program specializing in the doctorate degree and the only one based at a research organization. A total of 28 doctoral degrees and 13 master's degrees will be awarded during commencement this year.

With 110 students, PRGS is the nation's largest program in policy analysis. Its professors are drawn largely from the more than 950 researchers at RAND, a nonprofit research institution that recently celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2008. As a nonpartisan organization, RAND is widely respected for operating independent of political and commercial pressures.

10 a.m. Saturday, June 12, 2010 in the RAND courtyard

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