KINGSTON, R.I. — October 16, 2019 — A recipient of a master’s degree in marine affairs from the University of Rhode Island, Mary Landry has made her mark in marine safety and coastal protection over the span of her lengthy and notable career. She will return to campus on Wednesday, Oct. 23 to discuss her perspective on the Coast Guard’s role in environmental crisis response as it relates to the nation’s work in preparedness and response.
Landry will speak as part of the URI Department of Marine Affairs Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series, developed to celebrate the Department’s 50th anniversary. The lecture is free and open to the public, and will take place in Weaver Auditorium in the Coastal Institute on URI’s Kingston Campus at noon.
Former Rear Adm. Landry served as commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District headquartered in New Orleans, where she oversaw 1,200 miles of coastline and 10,300 miles of inland waterways, covering 26 states. She was subsequently appointed the inaugural director of incident management preparedness at Coast Guard headquarters, and held senior White House roles from 2013 to 2014.
Landry was the executive officer of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office (MSO) Boston during the 9/11 attacks and during her tour as commanding officer of MSO Providence, Rhode Island, Landry oversaw the federal response to the Buzzard’s Bay oil spill in southeastern Massachusetts.
Her tour as commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District took place during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the major Mississippi flooding events of 2011.
Landry said, “What I learned during my time at URI was applied in ways I never could have imagined as I was departing campus in 1995. I look forward to sharing how those learnings contributed to efforts to improve the way our nation prepares for and responds to crisis.”
Tracey Dalton, professor and chair of the Department of Marine Affairs at URI, said, “We are thrilled to host someone with Admiral Landry’s breadth of knowledge on the topic of coastal and marine protection and her unique professional experience overseeing the response to major environmental crises. Her expertise and insights are highly relevant to the mission and the work of researchers and scientists at URI, across a number of departments and concentrations. We invite the public – as residents of a coastal state and region – to attend her talk on October 23.
URI was the first academic institution worldwide to establish a graduate program in ocean and coastal policy, management, and law in 1969. Initially a one-year program designed specifically for individuals who already had an advanced degree or five years of experience in marine related fields, the Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs program was expanded to include a two-year program in 1977 for those who did not already carry an advanced degree or the requisite experience. In the 1980s an undergraduate program was created, followed by a doctoral program in the late 90s. The mission of the Department of Marine Affairs has always been to advance research on and provide leadership for the management of complex coastal and marine environments worldwide. Its graduates come from across the United States and more than 40 countries and work in government service, non-governmental organizations, industry, and academia.
For more on the Department of Marine Affairs Lecture Series, visit web.uri.edu/maf.