U.S. Transportation Sec. LaHood Announces USMMA Advisory Board Members

[tankercaptain]

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the appointment of seven members to the United States Merchant Marine Academy Advisory Board.

The USMMA advisory board serves as an independent body whose purpose is to examine the course of instruction and management at the academy and advise the USMMA superintendent and maritime administrator to ensure the best possible educational atmosphere for all midshipmen.


“The department is committed to providing every midshipman at Kings Point the highest-quality education possible,” said LaHood. “This board will help the academy achieve its strategic plan goals. Their experience and expertise will further its mission to educate and graduate the best-qualified merchant mariners who will be the future leaders in the global maritime industry.”

The board will advise the academy’s superintendent on academic, organizational, and institutional best practices. Its members, selected by the secretary of transportation, will also review the implementation of the academy's strategic plan as well as the academy’s fiscal soundness, curriculum, morale and campus climate, student life, diversity and facilities.

“Kings Point graduates go on to careers in global transportation,” said USMMA Superintendent RADM James Helis. “It is essential that we have an advisory board that helps the academy stay current on maritime industry trends and educational best practices. I look forward to working with the members of the board.”

By statute, advisory board members must be individuals distinguished in education and fields related to the academy's mission.

In appointing new members to the advisory board, the department sought candidates with expertise in areas related to the Academy’s strategic plan, academic excellence, leadership development, and current maritime industry needs and trends.

The seven advisory board members are appointed for not more than three years and must include one graduate from the academy within the past six to 10 years.

The new members are: Dr. Sharon van Wyk, executive vice president and chief operations officer, American Public University System; Dr. Kathy Humphrey, vice provost and dean of students, University of Pittsburgh; Dr. Laurie Leshin, dean of the School of Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Marty Linsky, J.D., faculty, Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Founder, Cambridge Leadership Associates; Lt. Manuel Maddox, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Class of 2006; Bill Pennella, vice chairman of the board and executive vice president, Crowley Maritime Corporation; Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, professor, Department of Global Studies and Geography, Hofstra University.

 

[LineInTheSand]

Interesting stuff. On the 6-10 year requirement, is that just when the KP grad is selected, or is that a requirement while serving? I only ask because if its the latter, that really narrows it down to 1 or 2 classes.

 

[jasperdog]

Well let's see how they did and how this relates to the words in the announcement:

The USMMA advisory board serves as an independent body whose purpose is to examine the course of instruction and management at the academy and advise the USMMA superintendent and maritime administrator to ensure the best possible educational atmosphere for all midshipmen.


“The department is committed to providing every midshipman at Kings Point the highest-quality education possible,” said LaHood. “This board will help the academy achieve its strategic plan goals. Their experience and expertise will further its mission to educate and graduate the best-qualified merchant mariners who will be the future leaders in the global maritime industry.”

The board will advise the academy’s superintendent on academic, organizational, and institutional best practices. Its members, selected by the secretary of transportation, will also review the implementation of the academy's strategic plan as well as the academy’s fiscal soundness, curriculum, morale and campus climate, student life, diversity and facilities.

“Kings Point graduates go on to careers in global transportation,” said USMMA Superintendent RADM James Helis. “It is essential that we have an advisory board that helps the academy stay current on maritime industry trends and educational best practices. I look forward to working with the members of the board.”

By statute, advisory board members must be individuals distinguished in education and fields related to the academy's mission.

In appointing new members to the advisory board, the department sought candidates with expertise in areas related to the Academy’s strategic plan, academic excellence, leadership development, and current maritime industry needs and trends.

Dr. Sharon van Wyke - from here bio on line at apus.edu:

In addition to wide-ranging leadership experience, Dr. van Wyk possesses several process improvement certifications including Master Black Belt and Six Sigma Instructor. She has experience launching Lean, Agile and Scrum.

Dr. van Wyk holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and an M.S. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University. She earned a B.S. in Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

I'd say she meets the criteria with high marks especially in "organizational, and institutional best practices."

Dr. Kathy Humphrey - from her bio at pitt.edu:

"Kathy Humphrey is in her seventh year serving as Vice Provost and Dean of Students at the University of Pittsburgh. She plays a pivotal role in helping the University achieve one of its fundamental goals—educating the whole student—through a variety of programs and services. ...

She also serves as the liaison to Pitt’s ROTC program. ...

<followed by 2 full paragraphs of strong and real honors and focus on academic excellence and quality of student life & experience in a higher education envionment> ...

Humphrey earned a BS in education at Central Missouri State University, an MA in higher education administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a doctorate in educational leadership at Saint Louis University. She has a faculty appointment in Pitt’s School of Education and is committed to helping students retain and graduate. ..."

Gotta say there's multiple, definate thick chek marks on numerous "boxes" there and likely a great perspective on how to help improve numerous aspects of both midshipmen and faculty professional life on that one.

Dr. Laurie Leshin -
... oh heck just google her - former Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate where she played a leading role NASA's future human spaceflight endeavors; She has published over 40 scientific papers. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from Arizona State University, and her Ph. D. in Geochemistry in 1994 from California Institute of Technology. ... In 2013, President Obama appointed Leshin to the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In 2004, Dr. Leshin served on President Bush’s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, a nine-member commission charged with advising the President on the execution of his new Vision Space Exploration. She received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2004 for this work, and the Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2011 for her work at NASA. The International Astronomical Union recognized her contributions to planetary science with the naming of asteroid 4922 Leshin. .. you could write 30 pages on ths woman and not run out of reasons why she is a great add to this group - total SLAM Dunk ---

Marty Linsky, J.D., -from his bio at harvard.edu:

"Marty Linsky, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, has been a faculty member since 1982, except 1992-5 when he was Chief Secretary/Counselor to Massachusetts Governor William Weld. He teaches exclusively in the School's executive programs and chairs several of them. ... He co-authored, with Heifetz, Leadership on the Line, and co-authored with Heifetz and Alexander Grashow, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. ..."

Looks like another solid pick, especially if you like Massachusetts Brahmins and what higher education review body here in the US doesn't?

Bill Pennella - from his bio at crowley.com:

"Bill Pennella joined Crowley in 1987, and since that time has held positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of human resources, senior vice president of human resources/administration and executive vice president. He has more than 40 years of experience in administration, human resources, and labor relations. Prior to joining Crowley, he worked in those fields for two global steamship lines. Pennella graduated from Rutgers University, with degrees in psychology and business."

Hard to argue with a former Admiral of the Ocean Seas award winner and accomplished EVP of one of the larger US Flag Carriers. However, it's worth noting there are numerous similar folks both at Crowley as well as other US Flag Carriers who are also graduates of Maritime Academies (both USMMA as well as the other respected State Maritime Academies) leaving one to wonder if that might be a disqualifier as over the past 9 months one can only conclude there is a purge of those folks from the USMMA leadership based on all recent personnel actions of consequence at senior levels.


Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrique: from his bio at Hofstra.edu:

"Jean-Paul Rodrigue received a Ph.D. in Transport Geography from the Université de Montréal (1994) and has been at the Department of Economics & Geography at Hofstra University since 1999. In 2008, he became part of the Department of Global Studies and Geography.

Dr. Rodrigue, as project director, contributed to the development of a web site about transport geography and was chair of the Transport Geography Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers (2004-2006). He is also on the international editorial board of the Journal of Transport Geography and the Cahiers Scientifiques du Transport, acts as the Van Horne Researcher in Transportation and Logistics, is a member of University Transportation Research Center, Region II of the City University of New York and is a lead member of the PortEconomics.eu initiative."

Another slam dunk ... just google the guy or even better his publications - hopefully he will have more success and impact relative to his comments about infusing technology and updating the content inside the syllabi of the numerous courses, especially the Logisics and Intermodal Transportation curricula at USMMA then some of we graduates out here in industry have had of late.

Lt. Manuel Maddox - looking at his profile on LinkedIn and accepting the criteria of "must include one graduate from the academy within the past six to 10 years" certainly meets the criteria an is a good pick in my view too.

I hope the board is effective and their advice andconsul sought and heeded on many of the issues they should bring an informed, interesting breath of new perspective to the ongoing discussions. I won't lie I continue to have concern that neither the current leadership at USMMA nor this board has even one individual who brings both historical perspective as a graduate, and is accomplished succeeding as one in the Maritime Industry. As was noted on other threads, and is an opinion I strongly share, USMMA and the Maritime Industry has a culture and perspective that it's virtually impossible to understand if you haven't lived within it and sailed on your lisence in the US Maritime Industry. Why Secratary LaHood, MARAD, and apparently as well RADM Hellis USMS, RDML Dunlap USMS; and Capt Kennedy USMS seem to fear having even a single accomplished, older widely respected USMMA graduate in the mix of these types of things is perplexing to me. I certainly understand some of the history as to where such fears are rooted, but I also know many, many fellow graduates who in their day to day life clearly understand how to respectfully collaborate with other members of similar organizations, etc. such as oards of Directors of their corporations, etc. or Governmental Bodies (recalling that three graduates are former MARAD Administrators who had management and oversight responsibility for USMMA, etc.)