Emeritus Professor Dennis Nixon returned to the Marine Affairs Department on September 10th, 2021 to provide a brief history of the Marine Affairs Department to new and returning students at Graduate Orientation. Beginning in the early 1960s, Professor Nixon’s talk explained how the formation of the Marine Affairs graduate program – the first program of its kind in the United States – was a response to a growing need for marine and maritime expertise in the United States. Because he has been a member of the department since 1975, Professor Nixon was able to give a detailed history of the department itself, including its change over time in response to local and national trends. Thanks, Dennis!