Daniel Oliver
Trustee, NPS Foundation
VADM Dan Oliver, a native of Camden South Carolina, was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Virginia in June 1966. A Naval Aviator, he holds both Bachelor and Master's Degrees from the University of Virginia where he also served as Associate Professor of Naval Science. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and was a White House Fellow.
Flying the Navy's P-3 Orion patrol aircraft, specializing in detecting and tracking submarines, Oliver completed eight operational deployments around the world during the Cold War while assigned to Patrol Squadrons Ten, Eight, Thirty and Sixteen. He commanded Patrol Squadron Sixteen and Patrol Wing Two. As a Flag Officer, he served as Commander, Fleet Air Forces Mediterranean and commanded coalition air operations in support of the United Nations embargo of the former Republic of Yugoslavia.
​VADM Oliver is also a veteran of the Pentagon, where he served two Chiefs of Naval Operations as Administrative Assistant, then as Executive Assistant. He has directed several key Navy headquarters divisions, including the Total Force Training and Education Division, where he supervised mobilization of Naval Reservists called to active duty during Operation Desert Storm. In subsequent OPNAV assignments, first as Director, Assessment Division and then as Director, Programming Division and Director, Fleet Liaison Division, he was instrumental in shaping a balanced investment program for all Navy resources.
​In September 1996, VADM Oliver became the Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower and Personnel. He was the primary advocate for sailors, both officers and enlisted, from recruitment though retirement. During three years in this position, he formulated and instituted personnel policies that guided the Navy through a critical transition from post-Cold War drawdown to a steady state force, fully prepared to enter the 21st century with the highest quality men and women in the Navy's history.
​Following his active duty Navy career, VADM Oliver spent a year as an independent consultant. Then, in December 2000, he joined Science and Engineering Associates, Inc. (SEA} an Albuquerque, NM based company as a member of its Board of Directors and as President and CEO of its Louisiana subsidiary, SEA Information Services, Inc. In January 2003, SEA moved its headquarters to New Orleans and he became President of SEA. In January 2004, SEA was bought by Arlington Capital and merged with ITS Services, Inc. to form Apogen Technologies, Inc. At that time Oliver joined the Apogen Technologies' Board as a Director and became President of the National Security Sector, the company's largest operating unit. Apogen Technologies provided a wide range of technology products and services, primarily to federal government clients. In September 2005, Apogen was acquired by Quinetiq, Ltd. and became part of Quinetiq, N.A. in the fall of 2006.
​In April 2007, VADM Oliver was appointed by the Secretary of the Navy as the first full time civilian President of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, CA. NPS has offered advanced degrees in a broad spectrum of subjects to military officers and civilians in the national security sector for over a century. During President Oliver's tenure, NPS met all accreditation standards and experienced significant growth both in number and diversity of students and faculty and in the amount and scope of research funding. He retired from federal service in December 2012. Oliver currently chairs the Monterey Bay Defense Alliance and is a member of the California Governor's Military Council.