The president of America's largest military shipbuilder, which also happens to be an ODU Engineering Corporate Circle partner, will deliver the morning address to graduates at Old Dominion University's 121st commencement exercises on Saturday, Dec. 13. More than 1,300 graduates will have bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees conferred in two ceremonies in ODU's Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Mike Petters, president and chief executive of Huntington Ingalls Industries, will speak at the 9 a.m. commencement ceremony to graduates of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, College of Sciences, and Darden College of Education.
Petters assumed his role on March 31, 2011, when Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding began operating as the newly formed and publicly owned Huntington Ingalls Industries, America's largest military shipbuilder, in a spin-off from Northrop Grumman Corp.
Petters is responsible for leading the design, construction and overhaul of conventionally powered surface combatants, amphibious and auxiliary ships, nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, as well as business opportunities in adjacent markets. Prior to this appointment and since 2008, Petters served as president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. Previous to this, he served as president of Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector.
Petters joined Newport News Shipbuilding in 1987 in the Los Angeles-class submarine construction division. He held a number of increasingly responsible positions throughout the organization, including production supervisor for submarines, marketing manager for submarines and carriers, vice president of aircraft carrier programs, vice president of contracts and pricing, and vice president of human resources.
A native of Florida, Petters earned a bachelor's degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982, served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS George Bancroft and spent five years in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
For more information about ODU's 120th commencement ceremonies, visit the 2014 commencement Web page: www.odu.edu/commencement.