Dear NPS Community,
 
As we celebrate the holiday season and prepare to welcome 2025, John and I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to each of you for the exceptional dedication and spirit you bring to our Naval Postgraduate School. This special season is a time for joy and renewal. It also offers us the opportunity to reflect on all the hard work and shared achievements of the past year, which gives me optimism and confidence for the year ahead.
 
2024 has been another year of remarkable progress. Our students are the mission, and together we enabled more than 1,000 graduates to cross the stage in King Hall, returning them well prepared to lead and make a difference back in the Fleet, Joint Force, agencies, partner nations and allies. Their impacts have been substantial: hundreds of cutting-edge research projects with relevant applications and solutions. Whether in Monterey or deployed across the globe, our graduates will continue to make a lasting impact. 
 
We also continued our facility modernization efforts, expanded classified spaces, implemented new stackable certificates/degree programs, automated more business processes, and fostered new industry partnerships to enhance our education, research and innovation process.
 
Each of you—students, faculty, and staff—have played a pivotal role in this year’s journey. Your unwavering dedication to excellence, service, and mission continues to inspire me and solidify NPS as a beacon of intellectual and innovative leadership. In 2025, we are building on this strong foundation to further enhance the NPS mission and better meet the needs of our Navy and DOD as the nation’s elite defense-focused graduate institution. 
 
Looking ahead, the challenges before us are significant, but so are the opportunities. We will continue to focus our education, align our research, and increase Fleet integration to drive relevant innovation in all that we do. These priorities are not just goals; they are imperatives, essential to ensuring that NPS remains at the forefront of discovery and impact.
 
This holiday season we pause in reverence with those who mean the most to us, as well as those we have lost. For many in our community, the holidays are a poignant reminder of colleagues and family who have passed, and sacrifices made in service to our country. To all our NPS members, veterans, and families on campus and in the extended community, know that you are not alone, and in the spirit of the season I ask everyone to be conscious of those who may need a helping hand. 
 
Again, from John and I, we wish you a safe and a joyful holiday season, and a New Year filled with hope, health, and success. Let us embrace 2025 with renewed energy, commitment to each other and shared purpose that defines our NPS community.
 
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all,
 
Ann E. Rondeau, Ed.D.
Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
President, Naval Postgraduate School