DOT Secretary Ray LaHood Accepts Resignation of USMMA Superintendent

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today (11/9) accepted the resignation of Rear Admiral Allen Worley, Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, effective January 4, 2010. DOT provides no further details.

“The Merchant Marine Academy has gone through an important rebuilding year and is positioned for reaching the next level,” said Secretary LaHood. “We are confident the Academy is on course to continue as the premier institution in maritime education. We appreciate Admiral Worley’s service.”

Secretary LaHood noted that during the last year several steps were taken to upgrade processes at the Academy and to improve educational opportunities for Midshipmen, including cutting student fees in half, hiring an outside accounting firm to improve Academy finances and assigning a blue ribbon panel of national experts to examine the capital needs of the school and make recommendations for its upgrade.

Dr. Shashi Kumar, Academic Dean and Assistant Superintendent for Academic Affairs, will act as interim Superintendent upon Admiral Worley’s departure in January. A nationwide search will be conducted to find a permanent successor.

Admiral Worley has been the Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy since November 2008, the tenth person to hold this post since the institution’s dedication in 1943.

The Merchant Marine Academy, operated by the U. S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, is one of the nation’s primary sources of licensed merchant marine officers and is renowned internationally for its maritime education and training programs.