Adm. Charles W. Ray has been named the next Tyler Chair in Leadership Studies at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Ray, who retired as the vice commandant of the Coast Guard earlier this year, previously served as the Pacific Area commander and has held flag assignments as the Deputy Pacific Area commander, and commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District.
He also held the title of Ancient Albatross, an honor given to the longest serving Coast Guard Aviator. During his career, Ray was awarded the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, and had served at six Coast Guard air stations from Alaska to the Caribbean while accumulating more than 5,000 hours of helicopter flight time.
The James S. Tyler Chair in Leadership Studies is part of the Academy's Loy Institute for Leadership, which facilitates leadership development across all programs at the Academy. The position originated in 2005 when Dr. Tyler established a chair in leadership development to assist the Academy with developing strong military leaders.
As the Tyler Chair, Ray will deliver an annual address to the Academy community and speak to each year's incoming class of cadets. Other contributions may include classroom instruction and coordinating opportunities to lead in emerging areas of national interest, such as the Arctic and cyber security.
Ray is expected to begin his duties later this year after relieving Adm. Thad Allen, who served as the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard from 2006 to 2010 and has held the Chair since 2014.
Allen is best known for his leadership while directing the federal government’s response to the devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita that struck the Gulf Coast region from September 2005 to January 2006, and for his role leading the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
The Institute for Leadership was renamed the Admiral James M. Loy Institute for Leadership to recognize Admiral Loy’s contributions as the first Tyler Chair from 2004 to 2014. Loy previously served as the 21st Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1998 to 2002 and led the service during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He also supervised the resumption of sea-borne trade throughout the U.S., after the Coast Guard had shut down most major ports as a result of the attacks.