Sean O'Keefe has not had the traditional background of an official for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

His past careers include professor of business administration and assistant to the senior vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School at Penn State, as well as secretary of the navy.

O'Keefe returned to the university Friday as the first speaker for this season's Penn State Forum lectures at the Nittany Lion Inn, 200 W. Park Ave. The forum is a series of lunchtime presentations organized by the Faculty/Staff Club and sponsored by the Penn State Bookstore to help bring the university community together.

Since being appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the 10th administrator of NASA in December, O'Keefe has become immersed in the mission of the organization.

He listed the mission objectives as understanding and protecting the planet, exploring the universe, searching for life and inspiring the next generation of explorers.

Outlining these goals in his presentation, titled "Managing Transformation," O'Keefe spoke on the extensive history of NASA and its possible future.

"We all have very specific recollections of the accomplishments that this agency has achieved over the past 44 years and in various ways have expectations of it," he said to a crowd of about 460 Penn State students, faculty, administrators and State College community members. "We must conquer what we understand to be limitations."