tankercaptain
10-Year Member
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- Jun 28, 2012
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Update on Vacancies at USMMA
The Merchant Marine Academy may lose its highly respected Academic Dean, Dr. Shashi Kumar, who holds a Ph.D. in Maritime Economics, is a Master Mariner and a Fulbright Senior Specialist and has stepped up to serve as interim Superintendent three separate times. As a recognized maritime policy expert, he writes the “U.S. Merchant Marine and World Maritime Review” published annually in the Naval Institute Proceedings magazine. A recent article in the Charleston, South Carolina, Business Journal reported that Dean Kumar is one of three finalists for the position of Provost at The Citadel military college. He was selected from a field of over 130 qualified candidates.
The potential departure of Dean Kumar follows other high level departures from USMMA:
- Commandant John Kennedy will be leaving March 6, 2015 after beginning his job search at least a year ago.
- Athletic Director Susan Petersen-Lubow stepped down in March 2014 and only now is that position being filled.
- Waterfront Director Chris Gasiorek vacated his position in February 2014. His position remains unfilled.
- The Sexual Assault and Response Coordinator (SARC) left last spring and was not replaced for six months resulting in a deficiency in a recent Inspector General Audit.
- Four vacancies in Admissions include the Assistant Director of Admissions Michael DeRosa who left last summer, and the Diversity Recruiter position, vacated in July, 2014 as well as Admissions Officer Norm Johnsen who left in 2013. The class of 2019 will be the first plebe class in memory to have no foreign students because the Admissions Department is functioning at 50% staffing.
- Tactical Officer, Regimental Logistics Officer and Student Activities Director vacancies exist in the Commandant’s Division.
- External Affairs Director and assistant in Administration have been vacant since 2013.
- There are currently seven vacancies in the academic departments, some of which have been vacant for six months or longer.
The departure of Dean Kumar would leave the Academy in an unusual position, as Kumar is the only mariner at the senior administrative level. Unlike the other Service Academies who have administrations comprised almost entirely of graduates who are experts in the mission of those Academies, USMMA has only Kumar. This means that the nation’s only federal Merchant Marine Academy, whose mission is to educate and develop the next generation of maritime professionals, will be fully under the leadership and guidance of non-mariners.
When advertised, Academy vacancies are posted on USMMA-AAF social media portals and can be found on USMMAAF.com. Qualified Kings Pointers are encouraged to apply.