Joe Sestak and Dr. Michelle Howard-Vital at Cheyney University’s Ed Bradley Studio, Spring 2012
This Fall former Congressman and retired Navy Admiral Joe Sestak will be teaching a seminar in Ethical Leadership in the Political Science program at Cheyney University.
The course, RPO 450 Special Topics: Ethical Leadership, is scheduled for Wednesdays from 6:00-8:30 pm. According to Dr. Bradley Jay Buchner, Professor & Chair, Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences at Cheyney University, “This course provides an opportunity for Cheyney students to know and learn from someone who has served at the highest levels of two of our most important social institutions – the Military and the US Government.”
Born and raised in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Joe Sestak graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1974. He served 31 years in the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of 3-star Admiral. Joe led a series of operational commands at sea, culminating in command of the GEORGE WASHINGTON Aircraft Carrier Battle Group consisting of 30 ships during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq; and served as President Clinton’s Director for Defense Policy in the National Security Council in the White House, and oversaw the Navy’s five year $350 billion warfare budget as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Joe served as head of “Deep Blue,” the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks to address the strategic, budgetary, and operational policy for the “Global War on Terrorism.”
After the Navy, Joe was elected to Congress to represent Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, where he served through 2010 when he ran for the U.S. Senate. According to the Office of the House Historian, Joe is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to office in either branch, where he served in the Armed Services, and the Education and Labor Committee, and as Vice Chairman of the Small Business Committee.
While in the Service, Joe received a Masters in Public Administration, and a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Married to Susan, and Dad to Alex, he resides in Edgmont, PA.