Naval Institute Partnerships Promote Innovation and History
Teaming with other organizations has proved a successful means for the Naval Institute to accomplish its educational goals. Two recent partnerships will enhance the study of military history, encourage writing on technical subjects, and provide a welcome financial boost to the Naval Institute.
Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, has made a major three-year pledge to underwrite technology and innovation articles in Proceedings and to recognize the best effort each year with the Battelle Prize for Writing on Technology & Innovation. Citing the strong reputations of both the Naval Institute and Battelle, retired Navy Rear Admiral Skip Dirren, Vice President, Navy Market Sector, expressed appreciation for "this opportunity to position Battelle with a world-class organization for a greater impact within the naval community." This is the first of a series of thematic sponsorships in which the Naval Institute will partner with organizations to stimulate discussion in key strategic areas and position themselves with their target audience through the pages of Proceedings.
The Colonel (IL) James N. Pritzker Distribution Fund, facilitated through the Tawani Foundations of Chicago, will have a significant impact on the Naval Institute's efforts to record military history so future generations can learn from the experiences of those who served before. Longtime Institute member Jim Pritzker's generosity will provide much-needed general support to the oral history program over the next three years. He is building the Pritzker Military Library, a state-of-the-art technology facility in Chicago. As part of this new arrangement with the Tawani Foundations, Naval Institute oral historian Paul Stillwell will offer periodic oral history workshops at the library, a service that ultimately will benefit all who appreciate our nation's military legacy.
In Memorium
In recent months, we have lost two members of the Commodore Club. Canadian businessman A. Ralph Hibbard, inducted as a Commodore by Vice Admiral Joe Metcalf on board the USS Constitution in 1991, was among the first to join the Naval Institute's premier donor society. He is survived by his daughter, Susan, and his widow, Kylene Barker, a former Miss America.
Retired Rear Admiral Gustave N. Johansen of Falls Church, Virginia, was a Naval Institute member for nearly 50 years. His time as a sailor prior to joining the Naval Academy Class of 1929 influenced his philanthropy. A bequest to the Naval Institute will endow a future annual award for the former-enlisted sailor graduating from the Naval Academy with the highest class standing.