FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2003
FY03-13g
Hekman Elected to ORAU Board of Directors
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. –Peter M. Hekman, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy, retired, was elected to the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Board of Directors at the 58th annual meeting of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions in Atlanta, Georgia. The board manages the property and affairs of ORAU for its membership.
Established in 1946, ORAU is a consortium of 88 doctoral-granting colleges and universities that carries out active programs with and for its members. These include efforts to increase member university involvement in corporate work initiatives, programs that facilitate interactions between senior industrial scientists and faculty and students at member institutions, and awards to junior faculty members at member universities.
Hekman currently serves as an independent consultant with proven expertise in personnel management, nuclear engineering and operations, systems design and development, acquisition and project management, and radiological and hazardous waste remedial management.
He is currently the Chairman of the Military Advisory Council of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, and Management Advisory Board of the General Atomics Company. He is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of the San Diego Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association and Board member of the Armed Services YMCA and U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Chapter. He is the Founder and Board member of the San Diego Fleet Week Foundation and Board member of the San Diego Chapter of the Navy League of the United States.
Heckman commanded the Naval Sea Command, which is the largest, most complex Material Command in the Department of Defense. Since retiring from the Navy, Hekman has served as Manager of the Savannah River Plant, Vice President of SYNTEK Technologies, and President of Babcock & Wilcox of Ohio, Inc.
Hekman has received the Department of Energy Exceptional Service Award and Medal, American Society of Naval Engineers highest professional award, Defense Department Superior Service Medal, four awards from the Presidential Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and numerous service awards and commendations.
Hekman earned his master’s in Management in International Economics from the U.S. Naval Post-Graduate School and bachelor’s in Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy. He is also a graduate of the Navy Nuclear Power Program.
A private, not-for-profit corporation, ORAU also manages and operates the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) for the U.S. Department of Energy. ORISE focuses on scientific initiatives to research health risks from occupational hazards, assess environmental cleanup, respond to radiation medical emergencies, support national security and emergency preparedness, and educate the next generation of scientists.