US Merchant Marine Academy gets 1st female superintendent

KINGS POINT, N.Y. (AP) — The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s next superintendent will be the first woman appointed to the position in the institution’s nearly 80-year history. The U.S. Transportation Department announced Saturday that retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joanna Nunan will take the helm at the 1,000-person academy in Kings Point, Long Island in a few weeks. She is succeeding Jack Buono, who resigned in June. Nunan retired this year as the Coast Guard’s Deputy for Personnel Readiness. She will take over a Merchant Marine Academy that’s been racked by sexual misconduct allegations in recent years. The academy trains graduates to work in the commercial shipping industry.