Sean O ' Keefe Sean Charles O ' Keefe ( born January 27 , 1956 ) is the Chairman and CEO of EADS North America , a subsidiary of the European aerospace firm EADS , a former Administrator of NASA , and former chancellor of Louisiana State University ( LSU ) . O ' Keefe is also a former member of the board of directors of DuPont . He resigned from LSU on January 16 , 2008 . Asteroid 78905 Seanokeefe was named after him in honor of his time as NASA Administrator . O ' Keefe and his teenaged son were among four survivors of a plane crash on August 9 , 2010 near Aleknagik , Alaska . O ' Keefe sustained serious injuries in the crash of a de Havilland Canada DHC - 3 Otter seaplane in which former United States Senator Ted Stevens and four others perished . Education and family . O ' Keefe ' s great - grandfather was Arthur J . O ' Keefe , Sr . , who from 1926 to 1929 was the mayor of New Orleans , Louisiana . His grandfather , Arthur O ' Keefe , Jr . , was an member of the Louisiana State Senate from New Orleans from 1948 to 1950 . His uncle is the former State Senate President , Michael H . O ' Keefe . Sean O ' Keefe was born in Monterey , California , to the former Patricia Carlin ( died 2010 ) and Patrick Gordon O ' Keefe ( born c . 1927 ) , both natives of New Orleans . Patrick O ' Keefe became a United States Navy engineer and over the years worked on nuclear submarines . The O ' Keefes therefore lived on several naval bases during Sean ' s childhood . In 1973 , he graduated from Wheeler High School in North Stonington , Connecticut . He then studied at Loyola University New Orleans , from which he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1977 . Many in his family attended Loyola . O ' Keefe subsequently acquired his Master of Public Administration degree in 1978 from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York . His wife Laura and children , Lindsey , Jonathan , and Kevin , reside in northern Virginia . Career before NASA . After receiving his master ' s , he began his career as a budget analyst for the Department of Defense . He served on the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations staff for eight years , and was Staff Director of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee . O ' Keefe became Controller and Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Defense in 1989 . O ' Keefe served as acting United States Secretary of the Navy from 1992 – 1993 under President George H . W . Bush . After Bush left office , O ' Keefe was Professor of Business Administration and Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Pennsylvania State University . He next became the Louis A . Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy , an endowed chair at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs . [ Professor of Business Administration and Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Pennsylvania State University . Joining the George W . Bush administration , O ' Keefe served as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget from January to December 2001 , a job that strengthened his reputation as a " bean counter " — someone who counts every penny . Tenure as NASA Administrator . Sean O ' Keefe became NASA administrator on December 21 , 2001 after his nomination by President George W . Bush was confirmed by the Senate . Sean O ' Keefe ' s tenure at NASA can be divided into roughly three equal periods , each marked by a single problem or event of overriding importance : Sean O ' Keefe came to NASA with a background as a former Secretary of the Navy and Director of OMB . As was the case with James E . Webb who served as administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 , O ' Keefe had no formal training in science or engineering . O ' Keefe ' s chief of staff until 2003 was Courtney Stadd . One of Sean O ' Keefe ' s most controversial decisions occurred in January 2004 , when he cancelled an upcoming mission by the space shuttle to service the aging Hubble Space Telescope . O ' Keefe claimed that , in light of the Space Shuttle " Columbia " accident , the mission would be too risky , especially since if the shuttle was damaged while visiting the Hubble , the shuttle would not have enough fuel to dock with the space station as a " safe haven . " While supported by members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board ( CAIB ) this decision was assailed by numerous astronomers , who felt that the Hubble telescope was valuable enough to merit the risk . In late October 2006 , O ' Keefe ' s successor , Michael Griffin , reversed the decision , regarding the mission to Hubble , after several years of study . After several delays , the final Hubble mission , STS - 125 was successfully completed in May 2009 . In the buildup to the 2004 election , a scuffle in the press occurred between Sean O ' Keefe and NASA climatologist James Hansen . In 2003 , it was revealed , Mr . O ' Keefe warned Dr . Hansen not to discuss humans ' role in global warming . " The administrator [ Mr . O ' Keefe ] interrupted me , " Dr . Hansen said in the New York Times , " he told me that I should not talk about dangerous anthropogenic interference , because we do not know enough or have enough evidence for what would constitute dangerous anthropogenic interference . " O ' Keefe ' s spokesperson said that O ' Keefe did not admonish Hansen or mean to suggest that research efforts should be cut . In 2004 , O ' Keefe drew criticism for openly campaigning for Bob Riley who was running for re - election as governor of Alabama and a member of Congress . He defended his action by saying that he was campaigning as a private citizen . O ' Keefe responded to President Bush ' s Vision for Exploration by hiring retired Navy Admiral Craig E . Steidle who had previously led development of the Joint Strike Fighter ( JSF ) as an associate administrator in charge of a new office : Exploration Systems Mission Directorate ( ESMD ) . A mission architecture for lunar exploration was developed based on four launches of medium - lift vehicles and four space rendezvous per mission . This mission architecture was immediately scrapped by Michael Griffin upon his arrival at NASA . NASA started over with the Exploration Systems Architecture Study ( ESAS ) , sixteen months after the Vision for Space Exploration ( VSE ) had been announced by President Bush . That architecture led to the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles ( later canceled ) and the Orion Crew Exploration vehicle . O ' Keefe tendered his resignation on December 13 , 2004 . Tenure as Louisiana State University Chancellor . O ' Keefe has been credited with the establishment of the Louisiana State University endowment through the Forever LSU fund raising campaign - his second campaign as LSU ' s Chancellor . The first , known as " Welcome to the Now ( Evo Devo ) , " was not as successful . He became popular among students for his ability to interact with them , especially during Chats with the Chancellor , that occur across the campus periodically throughout the semesters , as well as his encouraging emails . He announced on January 16 , 2008 , that February 1 , 2008 was his last day as chancellor . O ' Keefe lightly discussed his membership in the exclusive Bohemian Club to the Louisiana State University student newspaper " The Daily Reveille " . As a member of the Wayside Log camp , O ' Keefe traveled during July 2005 , to visit the famous Bohemian Grove near San Francisco , California . CEO of EADS North America . In October 2009 , O ' Keefe was brought in as CEO of EADS North America . O ' Keefe ' s Washington connections were noted at a time when EADS was trying to secure a $ 35 billion contract for U . S . Air Force in - air refueling planes in a competition with Boeing .