News Release

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Coast Guard Academy is scheduled to hold a Professor Emeritus ceremony honoring four faculty members Friday at 10 a.m. in the Officer’s Club.

This year professors Gregg W. Dixon, Michael E. McKaughan, Ernest J. Manfred and Howard C. Dunn Jr. will be given the title of Professor Emeritus.

The Professor Emeritus award recognizes academic and professional faculty members of the Coast Guard Academy who have made significant contributions to the Academy with the recommendation of the Credentials Committee and the endorsement of the Dean of Academics. Honorees must have also been employed or stationed at the Academy continuously for the last 15 years before retirement

Dixon joined the faculty of the Academy in 1993 and retired as the chief of the Mechanical Engineering section in 2004. In this capacity, he was instrumental in modernizing the Academy’s engineering programs by introducing computerized solution techniques and single-handedly developing a “Radiation Detection” course here. He also worked to increase the representation of women and minorities in engineering.

McKaughan served in the Electrical Engineering section at the Academy for 27 years and retired in 2009. His Numerical Electromagnetic Code modeling work with cadets has provided the Coast Guard a number of critical answers regarding antenna placement locations on a variety of ships. McKaughan was also routinely consulted for performance improvements of the Maritime and Nationwide Differential Global Positioning networks.

Manfred joined the faculty of the Academy in 1969 and dedicated 40 years of service in the Department of Mathematics. As department head, Manfred oversaw the change of the Mathematical and Computer Sciences major to the present Operations Research with Computer Analysis. Manfred’s 13 years as head of the department is the longest tenure of any mathematics department head in the Coast Guard Academy’s history.

Dunn joined the faculty of the Academy in 1978 and retired in 2008 as head of the Engineering Department. During his tenure at the Coast Guard Academy, he held positions of increasing responsibility including chief of the Civil Engineering Section, selected member of the American Society of Engineering Education Deans Council and Engineering Department head. Dunn was ASEE liaison to the American Society of Civil Engineering Committee on Curriculum and Accreditation which developed the nationally adopted Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., 2000 criteria for accreditation of civil engineering programs.

These professors will be frequently sought for their advice and counsel as well as maintaining a professional affiliation with the institution. They may also participate in social functions, lecture series and large projects at the Coast Guard Academy.

“Our four honorees represent more than 110 years of exemplary service to our Academy and our Coast Guard," said Kurt Colella, Coast Guard Academy Dean of Academics. "Their impact on the nation is very direct and take the form of the young women and men serving in uniform. The faculty and staff who have been honored to know them, and serve alongside them, stand on their shoulders moving forward."