Robert Dubois is the Director of the Center for Advances in Port Management at Lamar University. Rob hails from Miami Florida and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida before joining the United States Coast Guard.
As a young Coast Guard (CG) deck and engineering officer at the Marine Safety Office in Port Arthur Texas, Rob inspected oil tankers, cargo vessels, and offshore drilling units, led an armed foreign vessel boarding team, investigated collisions, allisions, groundings, and oil spills, and prosecuted administrative hearings as the Chief of the Investigation department.
Rob’s next assignment was Navy Flight school where he graduated first in his class in academics, earned his Navy Wings, and then went on to pilot CG Falcon Jets all over the US, Caribbean, Central, and South America doing Search and Rescue (SAR), migrant and drug interdiction, marine environmental protection, and fisheries enforcement.
As a CG falcon jet pilot, Rob earned an MS with distinction in aeronautical science and system safety from Embry Riddle University, and after two Pilot tours, the CG selected him to attend a full-time mid-career graduate program at Harvard University where he earned an MPA in public policy, economics, and leadership.
After graduating from Harvard, Rob transferred to CG Headquarters in Washington DC and became the CG’s lead performance budget analyst. Shortly after September 11th Rob was promoted to Chief of CG Plans and Policy where he briefed the House select committee on Homeland Security and worked with his team to protect our national infrastructure and integrate the CG into the newly forming Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
After a productive tour in Washington DC, Rob’s career circled back to Port Arthur, Texas where he facilitated National energy independence by reviewing and approving Cheniere, Exxon Mobile, and Sempra LNG waterway suitability assessments. Rob and his team also helped our region and waterway recover from devastating hurricanes and partnered with Jefferson County and the Navigation district to fund armed boats to further protect critical infrastructure and ships on the Sabine Neches waterway.
When Rob retired as a CG Commander with 21 years of service, Royal Dutch Shell asked him to build a best-in-class security program during the construction of our Nation’s largest refinery at Motiva in Port Arthur. For the next 12+ years, Rob and his team improved CG facility plans, Shell and Saudi Aramco Security policy, and built, and re-designed smart, cost effective infrastructure to protect Motiva refinery and its marine terminals. Rob also serves on Maritime Boards and Industry Committees in our region and taught Exxon Mobile risk management and OSHA courses at ISTC.