William J. Brennan, class of 1970, has been named President of Maine Maritime Academy.  Mr. Brennan has a long career in environmental policy, serving both the state of Maine and the nation.  The press release from Maine Maritime Academy states, "He has served as the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, as Administrator of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a $4 billion federal agency with 12,500 employees, and as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, a cabinet-level state agency. In addition, Brennan served for several years as the Director of the U. S. Climate Change Science Program, managing the government-supported research of 13 federal agencies and White House Offices. He began his career at sea in the merchant marine, working in both the deck and engine departments, and as a fisherman in Maine's commercial fisheries.

Brennan earned a Ph.D. degree in Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Maine, an M.A. degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island, and a B.S. degree in Marine Biology from the University of Maine. He is also the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Rhode Island. He is a Senior Fellow at the University of Massachusetts/Boston McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, a Senior Scholar at the University of Maine School of Law, and a Presidential Professor of Environmental Policy with joint appointment at the University of Maine's School of Marine Sciences and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. He has served as the Sawyer Professor of Ocean Studies at Maine Maritime Academy."  To read the Maine Maritime Academy's full press release on Mr. Brennan's appointment, please click here. 

Maine Maritime Academy is located in Castine, Maine, and was recently named as one of the nation's best Baccalaureate college in U.S. News and World Report.

All of us at Kents Hill School wish to congratulate Bill Brennan '70 on this outstanding achievement.