June 26, 2005
Sheerer Accepts Invitation from the Office of the Secretary of Defense
ECU Education Dean to Attend National Defense Conference
Greenville, NC – Dr. Marilyn Sheerer, of Greenville, NC, has accepted an invitation from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to participate in the Defense Department’s Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC 69), the oldest Pentagon program of its kind and the only civilian orientation program held by the department. This conference was initiated in 1948 and is the Secretary of Defense’s premier civic leader program.
The week-long orientation, which will be held April 24 – May 1, 2005, will give participants an opportunity to learn first-hand about U.S. military personnel, their equipment and capabilities as well as national defense strategies.
As a JCOC participant, Sheerer will visit military bases of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. A very select few distinguished civilians get the opportunity to interact with such an all-encompassing cross section of military leaders and personnel. Sixty (60) U.S. citizens are selected from hundreds of candidates nominated by military commands worldwide. The selection process is highly competitive.
The program begins in Washington, D.C., where Sheerer will meet and be briefed by Defense Department leaders such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and other senior military and civilian officials. The attendees then spend the next week in the field, visiting military installations and command centers representing all branches of the Armed Forces.
JCOC participants will fly on military aircraft; fire weapons; experience aircraft carrier landings and launches; and observe amphibious landings, urban area combat techniques, special operations assaults and other warfare demonstrations. The JCOC 69 program concludes in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sunday, May 1 with a visit to the Northern Command, the agency primarily responsible for homeland security.
Sheerer, who was nominated by the Marine Corps, says that by participating she hopes to gain a better understanding of how institutions of higher education can better address the complex educational needs of the North Carolina’s troops who comprise the third largest military community in the nation.
She is the first ever to attend from East Carolina University.
Dr. Sheerer has served as dean of the College of Education since 1998. She is a member of the North Carolina Public School Forum and serves on the Statewide Advisory Boards for School Leadership and the North Carolina Partners in Mathematics and Science. She also serves on the Board of the North Carolina Partnership for Excellence and is vice president of The Renaissance Group Board of Governors.
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