A University of Mary Washington alumna and top technology official at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) will deliver UMW’s Commencement speech next month.

Jennifer E. Clift, senior scientific technical manager and chief technology officer for NSWCDD, Virginia’s largest federal research and development employer, will address the University’s graduating class at the 112th Commencement on Saturday, May 6, at 9 a.m., on Mary Washington’s Ball Circle.

In her current role, Clift drives the vision and heads the efforts for advancing the Center’s technical capabilities through investments, partnerships and education. She oversees the Center’s innovation laboratory, science & technology portfolio, academic partnering and technology transfer efforts.

Throughout her 25-year career with NSWCDD, Clift has served in various technical and organizational leadership roles. As deputy head of the Electromagnetic and Sensor Systems Department, she provided leadership to a 600-person organization supporting research and development in the areas of electronic warfare, spectrum operations and advanced sensors. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of about 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers.