UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — David Titley, Penn State alum, retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and retired University professor, will give the commencement address for the spring 2025 baccalaureate degree commencement ceremony for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, in the Pegula Ice Arena on Penn State's University Park campus.
Titley graduated from Penn State in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology. He earned his master’s degree in meteorology and physical oceanography and doctorate in meteorology, both from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
After graduation, Titley served as naval officer for 32 years and rose to the rank of rear admiral. His tenure included duties as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command; oceanographer and navigator of the Navy; and deputy assistant chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance. He also served as senior military assistant for the director, Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. While serving at the Pentagon during his last three years on active duty, Titley initiated and led the Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change. Upon his retirement from the Navy, Titley served as the deputy undersecretary of commerce for operations, the chief operating officer position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Titley served on the Penn State faculty from 2013 to 2019 as practice in meteorology and professor of international affairs. He was the founding director of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk.
Titley has testified numerous times before various U.S. House and Senate committees and before the Australian Senate. He has served on multiple climate and security-related advisory boards and National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committees. He chaired the 2016 NAS Report on Extreme Weather Attribution and was the founding chair of the National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine Climate Communication Initiative advisory committee. He gave a TED talk on Climate Change and National Security.
Titley is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and has received awards for his work on climate communication from the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California and the National Center for Science Education. In 2022, he received the Alumni Fellow Award, the most prestigious designation given by the Penn State Alumni Association, and in 2017, he was awarded the Wilson Award for Outstanding Service from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.