Following a national search, the Maine Maritime Academy board of trustees selected Craig Johnson, an MMA graduate of the class of 1991, as its new president.
Johnson has served as the Academy’s chief operating officer since August 2022, and interim president since June 2024.
“Following a thorough search, we have selected Craig Johnson to lead Maine Maritime Academy,” said MMA board chair Wayne Norton (Class of 1986). “Craig has demonstrated stalwart leadership across the budgetary and strategic fronts, making solid inroads for the Academy throughout the maritime sector. He is well respected by faculty, staff, and students alike. Craig has a steady hand and the vision to position MMA for the pivotal moments ahead in the maritime industry.”
Johnson said he was honored by the appointment.
“The maritime industry is on the precipice of incredible growth, and it has been a career highlight to serve MMA as we create a roadmap that will ensure the Academy’s strength and sustainability in a thriving industry for decades to come,” he said.
“As an alum whose life trajectory was altered by atending the Academy, I am deeply moved by the young men and women who chose a career in the maritime world. Together with the deeply passionate faculty and staff and alumni, it is a point of pride that we are creating an environment that will lead them to future personal and professional successes.”
During Johnson’s tenure as chief operating officer and interim president, he initiated strategic partnerships for the Academy with Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and been reappointed to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee.
He also is overseeing the largest capital improvement projects in the school’s history with the expansion and renovation of its waterfront and updates to Curtis Hall, the state’s largest campus residential structure.
Johnson’s arrival at the Academy in 2022 followed three decades of maritime industry work for companies such SEACOR Holdings and XL North and was a founding partner in Flagship Management, an international maritime search and consulting firm. He held a USCG First Assistant Engineer and Third Assistant Engineer license.
MMA will receive a $300 million national security multi-mission vessel T/S State of Maine later this fall. The new training vessel, the third of its kind to be issued to a state maritime academy, is projected to revolutionize the training of mariners. The vessel is commissioned and owned by the US Department of Transportation’s Marine Division.
MMA is a co-educational, public college offering 22 academic programs in marine engineering, management, science, and transportation to promote U.S. maritime interests. The college is consistently recognized for providing a high-value education by organizations including the Brookings Institution, U.S. News and World Report, and Money Magazine.
