MARAD gives SUNY $1M Grant

Finally looks like some politicians are working to support the Maritime Sector. If they keep it up all the better.

Press Release, Office of Rep. Joe Crowley-

"(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, announced that SUNY Maritime will receive a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD). The funding will help SUNY Maritime continue maritime education programs, which help develop our nation’s highly-skilled U.S. Merchant Marine officers.

“I am thrilled SUNY Maritime College is the recipient of this much-needed funding from the Department of Transportation,” said Rep. Crowley, whose district includes the college. “Maritime College does an exceptional job of training our future maritime leaders, and I know this grant will provide critical resources to the young men and women that will serve our country at sea.”

“Support from MARAD is vital in helping SUNY Maritime stay in the forefront, providing educational programs that prepare future mariners who will serve our nation in so many ways,” said Maritime College’s interim president, Dr. Michael Cappeto. “Today’s announcement of a $1 million grant from MARAD to SUNY Maritime is the latest example of a partnership that serves both the College and the Maritime Administration, and ultimately benefits the U.S. citizens who rely on a viable and well-prepared maritime industry. We appreciate Congressman Crowley’s ongoing support, and are indebted for all that he does for our College.”

This funding came from the sale of obsolete vessels from the Maritime Administration’s National Defense Reserve Fleet, which were purchased for recycling. As required by the National Maritime Heritage Act, 25 percent of the profit from sales is distributed to maritime academies for facility and training ship maintenance, repair, and modernization, and for the purchase of simulators and fuel."

So, DP simulator?

If they were smart that’s what they would consider.

Too bad 1Mil doesn’t actually buy much. Honestly instead of a DP sim, I’d much rather they update all the tech that’s currently available. I remember the IT sucking and I doubt it’s improved. That or hiring more license professors.

I wonder what all the other academies are going to do with their million smackeroonies too!

I believe the money would have been better spent given to a school like L.E. Fletcher in Houma or some of the other local community colleges with classes for mariners.

Yea but by law the money from scraping the Reserve Fleet ships is to go to the State Academies. If the states supported these programs at CCs more though maybe they can eventually develop into another school. I was always surprised there isn’t one in Louisiana given its Maritime heritage. But either way the state has to be willing to put up a good deal of funding too, not just the fed.

I can see CMA using to fix up or demolish and rebuild the Pink Palace that we just bought. Quite honsestly we will probably just wast it on ballons or something. We may also have to use that to apologize for the picture of the Golden Bear sinking… look it up(Binnicle on facebook) if you havent seen it, apparently a local tug boat company which I will not name contacted Capt Bolton to offer help with raising her.

[QUOTE=coldduck;129735]I believe the money would have been better spent given to a school like L.E. Fletcher in Houma or some of the other local community colleges with classes for mariners.[/QUOTE]

MARAD barely cares about USMM; the GOM isn’t even on their radar.

I agree with previous poster, if the states really care about it they should get more involved. If nothing else, they could add a lot of dollars to their coffers from tuition.

That money needs to go to the updating of classrooms and labs, not a DP simulator. Lets face it, most cadets can’t handle a vessel right out of school, why blow money on money on something like a DP simulator. You need to know how to handle a boat before pushing that little button and thinking everything will be ok.

That money will come in handy.

Maritime can use it to help pay the salary of the Director of Conference Services, being that they hold NO conferences.

The can use it to help pay for the Community Relations Coordinator, a newly created position, even though they only have a few programs for the local community.

They can use it to help pay for the Special Events Coordinator, a position created in the last year or so, since they only hold 2 “special events” every year. They’re the same things that they’ve held forever, the Admirals Dinner and Homecoming. They always managed to get done without a “Special Events Coordinator”.

They could use it to pay for the six figure salary of the “Director of Government Relations”. In the 10 years or so she’s been there, she’s never managed to create any “relations” with any government official, local, state, or federal. In fact, we’ve heard that she has accomplished exactly zero in the whole time she’s been there. She’s never brought in one dime in government grants, etc.

They could use it to help pay for the six figure salary of the “VP of University Relations”. That’s a job that Maritime isn’t even supposed to have since SUNY considers that to be only for the large SUNY institutions. Carpenter hired our current illustrious VP of University Relations, without that person having any experience or qualifications whatsoever for the job. Since she started we’ve heard that she’s proven to be just as unqualified and useless as the search committee, that unanimously recommended against hiring her, expected her to be. Carpenter ignored the recommendation of the search committee. We heard that, under her illustrious leadership, they actually managed to chase away one of the very few donors who contributed a lot of money to Maritime.

Maritime has many ways to waste the money. I’ve listed just a few of them.

I remember when I was at Schuler the New York Times ran a banner headline that said “The last public school classroom in NY State is now connected to the internet!” and thinking… Um, no it’s not!!

Glad they are considering using this pork money borrowed as part of the Federal Debt to benefit a couple hundred white guys from Long Island like I was. Politics maneuvered this windfall into these States.

Do any vessels in New York State use DP? Is it a value to the State? Or do cadets who train on it immediately leave NY and take all their future income and taxes to spend in Texas or Florida?

Like millions before me, New York paid for my parks, roads, health care, beaches and education … As soon as I got the license I bolted leaving them holding the bag on their investment.

Again… “As required by the National Maritime Heritage Act, 25 percent of the profit from sales is distributed to maritime academies for facility and training ship maintenance, repair, and modernization, and for the purchase of simulators and fuel.”

This isn’t pork barrel funding and it’s not entirely up to the Academies about how they spend it. I think it’s safe to stow the pitch forks and torches.

Sure is a shame NYS bothers to pave the roads. Think of the money they could save by letting companies and individuals decide which roads were worth establishing and maintaining. Just because you’re not grateful for what they gave you doesn’t mean others aren’t.

[QUOTE=Starboard Ten;129792]Glad they are considering using this pork money borrowed as part of the Federal Debt to benefit a couple hundred white guys from Long Island like I was. Politics maneuvered this windfall into these States.

Do any vessels in New York State use DP? Is it a value to the State? Or do cadets who train on it immediately leave NY and take all their future income and taxes to spend in Texas or Florida?

Like millions before me, New York paid for my parks, roads, health care, beaches and education … As soon as I got the license I bolted leaving them holding the bag on their investment.[/QUOTE]

Did you even read the first post? I’m all for heaping scorn on MARAD and the fed govt when they deserve it, but on this occasion they did right by all of us and did right by the law.

I support the funding into our industry. But let’s face it, this is all politics. The Maritime Heritage Act was sponsored by 25 congressmen, 15 of them from Maritime Academy states wanting grants like this. It’s not like the academy first identifies a need then goes about finding a solution. Here, money literally falls from the sky into Schuyler based on an unrelated act happening elsewhere. Some might consider that pork.

I’m very grateful. Nothing I said infers that I’m not. I’m just pointing out how difficult it is for a State to fund infrastructure like Schuyler when in reality the people they invest in so often move away. NY gets screwed. Guys here criticize SUNY funding from Jersey, CT, and all over.

Yes I read the first post Johnny. My interpretation is that when the government sells an asset while it has such a high debt, it should either pay down the debt, or acknowledge that it is borrowing more money and adding onto the debt by transferring the money to be used as a surprise windfall into the budgets of bewildered school administrations.

Yes it’s “the law” to do so, but absolutely ALL government spending in authorized to be spent by one law or another. Just my cynical side breaching at this very early hour. I’m a self interest kind of guy as much as everyone here and this is my industry, so I say “Keep up the deal making at Marad”! Just don’t raise my taxes.

True, but every single bill is sponsored by a representative with an interest in it, that’s their job, to bring the interests of the citizens of their district to the federal government. The Jones Act was introduced by Sen. Wesley Jones (R-WA), and guess what, he was a major proponent of Puget Sound, and the Jones Act ensured that Alaska would then be dependent on maritime trade from Seattle. This has gone on long enough Mr. Jones, repel the Jones Act, stop the pork!

Everyone complains about it until THEIR representative doesn’t deliver (or does), then the citizens complain that their taxes are being wasted elsewhere (or praise them for their good work), and the rep gets booted (or re-elected). This explains why congressional approval ratings hit single digits, but district-by-district, most representatives individually are sitting pretty (obnoxious gerrymandering in 2010 helps the situation greatly too). We like to hate on the federal government, but it’s always someone else’s guy, someone elses district that’s the problem, or “congress”, but not like MY congressional rep. True pork barrel funding should definitely be more strictly controlled, don’t get me wrong, but this just isn’t the case with the source of funding here; the money already existed and it is being reinvested in similar interests. By your definition, every dime spent anywhere is undeserved political pork.

As far as the Academies, at least for Schyuler, they are in constant need of financial aid to maintain the training ship and other important faucets of their maritime education. Every spring it’s a scramble to get her functioning. It’s not like the thing is in tip-top shape and this is just some extra dough to throw around. Hence why simulators and the such are almost always donated; why repairs to the TS are always bare minimum to get her across the pond this one time; and why the school is now overrun with non-license program students (they are a funding source for the license program, pure and simple). There is a running list of critical identified needs and they are fixed only as money becomes available.