Navy, Columbia Sign NROTC Agreement

From Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs

NEW YORK (NNS) -- The Secretary of the Navy and the president of Columbia University signed an agreement May 26, at a ceremony on board USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) formalizing their intention to reinstate Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) programs at Columbia.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger signed the agreement aboard USS Iwo Jima, which is docked in New York for the Navy's annual Fleet Week activities.

The Department of the Navy and Columbia University announced the agreement April 21, after Columbia's University Senate passed a resolution to explore increasing the University's relationship with the Armed Forces, including programs like Reserve Officer Training Corps. This is the first time in 40 years the program will be in place at Columbia.

Under the agreement, the NROTC program will have an office on Columbia's campus and active duty Navy and Marine Corps officers will meet with Columbia NROTC midshipmen during routinely scheduled office hours. Navy and Marine Corps-option midshipmen will participate in NROTC through a unit hosted at SUNY Maritime College in Throgs Neck, N.Y.

The NROTC program develops young men and women morally, mentally, and physically, and instills in them the highest ideals of honor, courage, and commitment. The program educates and trains young men and women for leadership positions in an increasingly technical Navy and Marine Corps.