Administrator Sean O’Keefe today announced James L.
Jennings, Deputy Director of the NASA Kennedy Space Center
(KSC) in Florida, has been selected as the Deputy Associate
Administrator for Institutions and Asset Management at NASA
Headquarters in Washington, effective Sept. 9.
Jennings, who has been with the agency for 35 years, has been
KSC’s Deputy Director since August 2000. He will be
responsible for providing operational and management support
for Headquarters and will direct a full range of activities
relating to personnel and institutional management, reporting
directly to NASA Deputy Administrator Frederick Gregory.
“Jim’s diverse management experience with NASA makes him
uniquely qualified for this position,” Administrator O’Keefe
said in making the announcement. “He has literally watched
this agency grow up from the front lines. Jim’s leadership
and resource management expertise are needed in Washington as
we re-evaluate the way NASA manages its infrastructure and
assets.”
While Deputy Director at KSC, Jennings was responsible for
assisting the Director in determining and implementing center
policy and in managing and executing center missions. He
served as Acting Deputy Center Director in 1997 and as
Director of the Administration Office from 1993 to 1997,
where he was responsible for industrial labor relations,
strategic planning, civil service personnel management and
workforce analysis, continual improvement, university liaison
and information management.
In 1987, Jennings became KSC’s Deputy Comptroller, managing
the preparation, defense and execution of the center’s
budget. Jennings’ career has included management and analyst
positions at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., and Headquarters.
Jennings has received numerous awards during his NASA career
including an Equal Employment Opportunity Award in 1975, an
Exceptional Service Medal in 1988, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Medal in 1989 and an Outstanding Leadership Medal
in 1994.
Jennings also received the Distinguished Service Award in
1989 and the President’s Award in 1999 from the Space Coast
Chapter of Federally Employed Women. He was conferred the
rank of Meritorious Executive in 1997, and received the 1999
Presidential Distinguished Rank Award.
Jennings grew up in Alabama and received a Bachelor of
Science Degree in Mathematics and a master’s in Business
Administration from Alabama A&M University in 1968 and 1973
respectively. He earned a master’s in Administrative Sciences
from the University of Alabama in 1979. He first joined NASA
in 1967.
Additional information about Jennings is available on the
Internet at:
