Robert E. Kramek
(Retired) Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard
California Maritime Academy
Admiral Robert E. Kramek has a distinguished career of service to the United States and to the advancement of the nation’s vital maritime industry. A 1961 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, he holds Master of Science degrees in naval architecture and mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in engineering management from Johns Hopkins University. He has attended the Naval War College and the National Defense University.
Admiral Kramek’s distinguished 37-year career in the Coast Guard was capped by a four-year term as head of the service. As commandant, he guided the Coast Guard's international efforts to assist other countries develop their sea-based law enforcement agencies and to participate in joint oil-spill response and fisheries management exercises with Canada. Admiral Kramek pushed for increased service diversity and improved leadership training—a process that has opened new scholarship opportunities for California Maritime Academy cadets and enhanced Coast Guard career opportunities for its graduates.
In 1995, he oversaw the initial implementation in the U.S. of the international Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) as adopted by the International Maritime Organization. Admiral Kramek left the Coast Guard in 1998 to assume senior responsibility with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), serving as president, chief operating officer and director of the worldwide ship classification organization. ABS, a major underwriter of scholarships for Cal Maritime cadets, recently awarded the Academy a $3 million gift to underwrite the creation of the School of Maritime Policy and Management—the largest corporate gift in Cal Maritime's 80-year history.
Since retiring from ABS in 2007, Admiral Kramek has led the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and helped establish Society chapters in Canada and Greece. He serves on several business and academic advisory and trustee boards and as a director of the Coast Guard Foundation.
In recognition of his life and career that have strengthened the vital maritime trade and transportation industry, which is the focus of California Maritime Academy, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California Maritime Academy are proud to confer on Admiral Robert E. Kramek the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.