MARAD: No urgency to inform the public about the threat to the Academy’s accreditation
I asked MARAD to expedite the KingsPointSentry FOIA request for the copy of the Monitoring Report that the Academy submitted to the Middle States Commission […]
Time to force some more transparency at Kings Point (Updated)
Since the Academy refuses to update its stakeholders on the status of its efforts to avoid losing accreditation (today marks 270 days since the last […]
How MARAD Snookered Senators Fischer and Booker and Congress
In the recent posts (here and here) about the hijacking of the mission of the Congressional Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (“SAPR”) Working Group, I’ve […]
By hijacking the Congressional SAPR Working Group, MARAD creates a new reaccreditation risk
Why the hijacking of the SAPR Working Group could threaten the reaccreditation of USMMA. On April 20, 2016, seemingly innocuous legislation proposed by MARAD was […]
Will MARAD’s departed politicos succeed in hijacking the SAPR Working Group created by Congress?
It is critical that Secretary Chao ask Congress to delay the delivery deadline for the USMMA Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Working Group report […]
Beyond ridiculous. Yet another (actually a continuing) example of failed leadership.
Yesterday, March 1, 2017, was the deadline for the Academy to provide a “monitoring report” to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that would […]
This proves that the administration does not take accreditation seriously
Last June, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) put USMMA on accreditation warning. It is the only federal academy ever to be placed […]
A recent letter from the president of New York (SUNY) Maritime deserves your attention
Four. Keep that number in your head. Four. That is the number of graduates from New York (SUNY) Maritime in 2010 (the last, and only, […]
How MARAD attempted to manipulate Congress at the expense of USMMA [Updated]
[UPDATE: In this post, we put together the pieces of the puzzle that showed how MARAD was attempting to manipulate Congress. Another piece of the […]
An independent view on the state of things at the Academy
Joseph Keefe writes a regular column for MaritimeProfessional.com and his column regularly reports on various aspects of the state of maritime education. His most recent […]
A teachable moment — What can the Academy learn from the Office of Student Activities’ mistake?
Introduction: Last Friday, the Office of Student Activities (“OSA”) published a Facebook post (now removed, but a screen capture is here) about possible weekend activities […]
The AAF’s voice — and our voices — are heard in Congress
Earlier this week, Representative Peter T. King and Senator Roger F. Wicker wrote Jim Tobin, the president of the USMMA Alumni Association and Foundation, to […]
Funny thing about former Secretary Foxx’s $363,000 discredited LMI culture study (updated)
An alert alumnus has pointed out an anomaly about the LMI culture study that was commissioned by former Secretary Foxx at a cost of $363,000 […]
Whither sea year? Or more accurately, “Wither, sea year.”
A reliable source from within DOT advises me that there are five other commercial shipping companies (in addition to the three that were initially approved […]
Is it time to stand down Land Year? [updated]
If it weren’t for double standards, Academy leadership wouldn’t have any standards at all. This is from the the Facebook page for the USMMA Office […]
Secretary Chao: Beware the IED’s that were left behind at MARAD.
After the November elections, the outgoing MARAD and DOT political appointees were forced to scramble. First, they had to confront the reality that neither they […]
Sea Year Restored on APL, Maersk and Crowley!!!
Here’s the text of the email released by MARAD: MARAD 01-17 Wednesday, February 15, 2017 Contact: Kim Strong Tel.: (202) 366-5807 United States Merchant Marine […]
Finding that silver lining . . .
The late General Norman Schwarzkopf once said: “You learn far more from negative leadership than from positive leadership. Because you learn how not to do […]
No progress, no communication.
It has been 38 days since “the path” to restoring sea year on commercial ships was opened. As I write this, not a single midshipman […]
Time to “reverse past missteps.”
Ivy Barton Suter is one of the many alumni who have stepped forward to try to help get the rudderless ship known as the United […]
The latest Academy SA/SH annual reports
On Friday, January 27, 2017, MARAD delivered to Congress the preliminary 2015-16 SA/SH annual report for USMMA and the final 2014-15 SA/SH annual report for […]
An Open Letter and Warm Welcome to Secretary Chao
Dear Secretary Chao: Congratulations on your confirmation as Secretary of Transportation. Those of us who have watched the systematic attack on the U.S. Merchant Marine […]
“Preserve the Merchant Marine Academy”
That’s the title of this guest column in The Virginian-Pilot by Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wykle (US Army, retired), the former deputy commander in chief of […]
A timely article in Forbes offers a good sea year template for the new administration
Captain R.J. Klein, the Immediate Past President of the Council of American Master Mariners, has an article in Forbes that offers a concise analysis of […]
MARAD’s “new” criteria for restoring sea year were proposed by industry 7 months ago
In our continuing effort to assist MARAD with its “new era of transparency,” I put out a request the other day for MARAD or anyone […]
Remember how Rodriguez told the midshipmen not to believe what they read on KPS?
Soon-to-be-former Deputy Maritime Administrator Michael “Anchorman” Rodriguez told the midshipmen during the January 6, 2017 all-hands meeting (audio here) that they shouldn’t believe the rumors […]
An example of why the Academy administration has zero credibility [updated]
Another alum who has been working behind the scenes came up with this interesting comparison of statements by Academy leadership about the timeline for restoring […]
What are the criteria for the restoration of sea year on commercial ships?
In the January 6, 2017 all-hands meeting, Superintendent Helis assured the regiment of midshipmen and faculty that there was “a way ahead to restore training […]
Audio from today’s town hall
Click on the link to be redirected to audio from today’s town hall brought to you by Maritime TV. Spoiler alert: they didn’t answer our questions.
A pony for the administration for the Jan. 17 town hall
[updated to clarify the date of the town hall] For the January 17, 2017 town hall meeting, we thought it might save everyone a lot […]