50th Anniversary Celebration Dinner Keynote Speaker
Shear is a former Chief of Civil Engineers for the United States Navy. He previously served as Deputy Commander for Operations, Naval Facilities Engineering Command.
Shear assumed command of Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, D.C. and became Chief of Civil Engineers in 2006. He served in this capacity until he retired in May 2010. Previously, he served as the Director, Ashore Readiness Division (N46) Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations and as Deputy Commander, Navy Installations Command.
Shear graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1979 with a degree in naval architecture and was commissioned an ensign in the Civil Engineer Corps. In 1984, he received a Master of Science in civil engineering from CU Boulder. He also holds a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.
Shear's first assignment was to the Public Works Department, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Va. After graduate school in Colorado, he was assigned as aide to the commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command. In 1989, he was assigned as resident officer in charge of construction, Puerto Rico Area, and he would go on to assignments in South Carolina, Hawaii and East Timor. In 1993, he graduated with distinction from the College of Naval Command and Staff in Newport, R.I.
Shear is a Seabee Combat Warfare Officer, a registered professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a member of the Navy Acquisition Professional Community, and a member of the Society of American Military Engineers.
Shear is currently spending his retirement as a professor at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. He teaches project and construction management courses and is known for his mentoring. He and his wife, Marlene, have two children and four grandchildren.