At our last meeting, David Clough introduced us to his high School friend, Bill Brennan. These guys must have had a great time during their time together at Kent’s Hill Academy, because their repartee was worthy of Saturday Night live, as they threw jabs at one another. For a while some might have wondered if MMA was going to be mixed martial arts, for the day. However, things settled down and both gentlemen assumed their usual professional persona and we learned a great deal about the Academy. For example, MMA is a stand-alone institution and not part of the Maine University system. Mr. Brennan’s personal story is almost as interesting as the history of the school. One might opine that he was born into the job since he succeeded his father as President of the Academy.
Maine Maritime was created by an act of the legislature, vigorously promoted by Senator Ralph Leavitt father of club member Bill Leavitt, and came to fruition in 1941. Proving that politics changes little over the years, it turns out that the remote location, picturesque Castine, was not the choice due to aesthetics. It seems that a local school, Eastern State Normal School, had closed down and the building needed a tenant as much as the community needed the jobs, so it was a match made in Augusta, if not heaven. Travel to the school is a bit of an exercise but worth the trip, given the beauty of the surroundings and the astounding education.
The Academy is much more than a teaching facility for sea going mariners. Every graduate of MMA goes off to sea when they gain their degree, many stay on terra firma and utilize their expertise in land based engineering jobs, think ship building and safety services. As the merchant marine service of the United States has gone through momentous changes since WWII and mid Twentieth Century, the Academy has kept pace by providing much needed mariners along with well schooled engineers and students of management. The current enrollment of the school is about 950 students with a faculty of 110. The school employs 312 in total and has a payroll of close to 18 million dollars, which includes the cost of the flagship State of Maine training vessel. We get a great bang for our buck, since the school is considered one of the best in the U.S. and highly regarded worldwide. Students are often the first in their family to gain a college degree and most of them receive some form of financial support, but it doesn’t all come from the State. The graduates are highly recruited as is proven by 90% of the graduates having a job within 90 days of getting their degree! U.S. News & World Report, as well as Brookings and others rate MMA as one of the best. The students are well mannered and disciplined with a retention rate of 82%, despite the remote location. These kids are in school for a great education not a fabulous frat party. In fact, drug testing is required since there is an association with the Coast Guard.
The highlight of every sea going student is the time they spend on the schools ship, The State of Maine, which travels the globe and is well recognized wherever it travels. This is not a pleasure cruise, by any measure. The students are put through rigorous paces and must take care to keep the ship in shape and functioning to the highest of maritime standards. The ship uses about $900,000 on its tour but it’s money well spent as proven by success of the alumni and the distinction of being rated the number one Public College in the U. S. by Money Magazine.
