Between 1874 and 1936, diverse federal legislation supported maritime training through school ships, internships at sea, and other methods. A disastrous fire in 1934 aboard the passenger ship
SS Morro Castle, in which 134 people died, convinced the
U.S. Congress that direct federal involvement in efficient and standardized training was needed. Originally – and in cooperation with the State of
New York, which donated the land – the U.S. government planned to establish a large-scale Merchant Marine Academy at
Fort Schuyler, New York; nothing came of these plans. Fort Schuyler would later be used as the grounds for
SUNY (State University of New York) Maritime. Congress passed the landmark
Merchant Marine Act in 1936, and two years later, the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps was established. In that year, the
USTS Nantucket (ex-USS
Ranger) was transferred from
Massachusetts Maritime Academy to Kings Point and renamed the USTS
Emory Rice. The first training was given at temporary facilities until the academy's permanent site in
Kings Point, New York, was acquired in early 1942. The Kings Point campus was originally
Henri Bendel, later
Walter Chrysler's, twelve-acre waterfront estate constructed c. 1916. It was formally titled "Forker House" (now known as the USMMA's Wiley Hall). Also included on the property were numerous other former estates: Sidney H. March's "Claralea," the
Thomas Meighan residence, the Joseph Bryan residence, the Bernard D. Cohen residence, and the Walter J. Freeland residence. Much of these houses were part of the 20th century Grenwolde development. Construction of the academy began immediately, and 15 months later the task was virtually completed. The academy was dedicated on 30 September 1943, by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who noted "the Academy serves the Merchant Marine as
West Point serves the
Army and
Annapolis the Navy." World War II required the academy to forgo its normal operation and to devote all of its resources toward meeting the emergency need for Merchant Marine officers. Its enrollment rose to 2,700 men, and the planned course of instruction was reduced in length from four years to 18 months. To meet the wartime needs for qualified merchant marine officers two additional merchant marine cadet training school sites were established, one located in
Pass Christian, Mississippi, and the other in
San Mateo, California. (The San Mateo location was closed in September 1947, and the students transferred to Kings Point. The location in Pass Christian was similarly closed in 1950.) In spite of the war, shipboard training continued to be an integral part of the academy curriculum, and midshipmen served at sea in combat zones the world over. One hundred and forty-two midshipmen gave their lives in service to their country, and many others survived torpedo and aerial attacks. From 1942 to 1945, the academy graduated 6,895 officers. As the war drew to a close, plans were made to convert the academy's wartime curriculum to a four-year, college-level program to meet the peacetime requirements of the merchant marine. In 1948, such a course was instituted. Authorization for awarding the degree of
Bachelor of Science to graduates was granted by Congress in 1949. The academy became fully accredited as a degree-granting institution in the same year. It was made a permanent institution by an
Act of Congress in 1956. The academy accelerated graduating classes during the
Korean War and the
Vietnam War. It was involved in such programs as training U.S. officers for the nuclear-powered merchant ship, the
NS Savannah. Admission requirements were amended in 1974, and the academy became the first federal service academy to enroll female students, two years before the
Military,
Naval,
Air Force, and
Coast Guard academies. Prior to and during the
Persian Gulf War in early 1991, academy graduates and midshipmen played important roles in the large
sealift of military supplies to the
Middle East. Midshipmen training at sea also participated in the humanitarian sealift to
Somalia during
Operation Restore Hope. In 1992, the academy acquired its largest campus-based training vessel, the
T/V Kings Pointer. After 20 years at the academy, MARAD transferred the ship to the
Texas Maritime Academy in
Galveston to serve as its new primary training vessel. This was followed by an announcement on 21 August 2012, that the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (
NASA) agreed to transfer the
MV Liberty Star to the
U.S. Department of Transportation for use as the new training vessel at the academy. Before being redesigned to serve as a training vessel for students, the former
MV Liberty Star served as a
solid rocket booster recovery vessel for NASA retrieving solid rocket boosters following space shuttle launches. In June 2014, the vessel was rechristened the
T/V Kings Pointer, the fifth vessel of the academy to carry that name. The rechristening followed the earlier dedication of the academy's newly replaced Mallory Pier. In the 1990s, the academy's future came into question when it was included in the
National Performance Review, chaired by
Vice President Al Gore. The report recommended halving the federal subsidy and requiring students to pay half of tuition to reduce costs. Congress soundly rejected the recommendation and voted to continue the prohibitions on charging tuition to students. During the attacks of
11 September 2001, the Merchant Marine Academy assisted in the evacuation of civilians from
Lower Manhattan as well as the transportation of first responders and supplies to and from
Ground Zero. Midshipman, faculty, and staff from the academy, within hours of the attack, were using boats from the waterfront and sending them to the city. Members of the Merchant Marine Academy participated in the relief efforts for nine days. These efforts were recognized by President George W Bush with the award of the
Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award, the equivalent of the Defense Department’s Presidential Unit Citation. Merchant Marine Academy midshipmen and graduates have been involved in many facets of the
war in Iraq. Many graduates were involved in the transportation of supplies during the buildup to the war in 2003. Many graduates in the
U.S. Navy Reserve have been called to active duty to serve supporting naval roles in ports in
Iraq and
Kuwait. Graduates who have entered other branches of the service have had more direct roles in Iraq.
Aaron Seesan, a 2003 graduate and U.S. Army
first lieutenant, was the first Academy graduate since the
Vietnam War to be killed by enemy action. Since that time, two additional graduates, LTJG Francis L. Toner, IV, USN (class of 2006) and 1st Lt. William N. Donnelly, IV, USMC (class of 2008) died while serving their country in Afghanistan. delivering the commencement address at the academy. Between 2009 and 2014, the Obama Administration invested more than $450 million at the academy, including almost $100 million for capital improvementsthe most funding ever secured for physical improvements at the academy. Because of the service of
midshipmen in every major conflict the country has been involved in since World War II, the regiment is privileged to carry a regimental battle standard. The Merchant Marine Academy is the only federal service academy granted the right to do so, and the standard is carried with the colors at all times. Campaign ribbons from all the conflicts in which midshipmen have taken part help to dress the battle standard. The academy’s battle standard is emblazoned with the number "142" representing the number of USMMA midshipmen that have been killed in action since the academy’s inception. On 19 June 2006, President
George W. Bush gave the commencement address at the academy, the first sitting president to visit the academy. Since 2016, the academy has come under public scrutiny and sharp criticism from lawmakers for alleged sexual assault and harassment within its "Sea Year" program. The program, which places students on commercial vessels, was temporarily suspended in 2016 and again in 2021 for multiple allegations of sexual assault in the program. Following both suspensions, the
Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration implemented new safety standards and reforms. In 2022, President Joe Biden awarded the
Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award, for a second time, to Academy midshipmen who were in attendance between March 13, 2020 and June 18, 2022 based on the Regiment of Midshipmen’s leadership and relentless efforts to excel on campus, but more importantly for manning the ships during the logistical crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. ==Admissions==