Massachusetts Maritime Academy administrators have been told by Department of Higher Education officials to expect a 5.9 percent reduction in aid this week as the state wrestles with its financial and credit crises.
“The staff and I have been preparing for this expected budget turndown for months and have already taken steps to adjust our spending, freeze new hiring, delay replacing staff, stop a number of construction projects on campus and preserve our energy” Adm. Richard Gurnon, MMA president, noted Tuesday morning.

“We’ll continue to do everything in our power to ensure that we continue to deliver the very best education to all our students,” Gurnon said.

MMA recently installed solar-powered lighting around the campus to easy energy consumption. The Taylors Point school recently admitted the largest freshman class in its history. An executive-level Massachusetts Maritime Academy trio is headed for Shanghai Maritime University in China. Gurnon is accompanied by Professor Qi Chen from the Social Sciences Department, and Paul Kelly of Orleans, an MMA trustee.

Kelly recently returned from China where he coordinated security efforts for the Olympics. MMA secured private funding for this trip, and Kelly is paying for his own passage. “The entire trip will not cost taxpayers a dime,” said Chris Ryan, MMA communications officer.

The university in Shanghai is a public college with an undergraduate enrollment of 22,000 and 2,000 post-graduate students. Instruction is in Chinese and English. The university specializes in maritime industry business studies and offers course work in harbor-front industries. In collegiate and business circles, it is considered a leading edge maritime university in China (source: wickedlocal.com)

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