Marine Mover: Landing School appoints new president
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine – The Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design has appointed Barry R. Acker, Eastsound, Wash., as the new president of the institution, it reported in a statement yesterday. Acker will assume his new post effective March 28.
“Barry Acker is an extremely professional and proven administrator with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors of education, and he has demonstrated achievements in financial management as well as fund raising,” said Ross Santy, chairman of the Landing School’s Board of Trustees. “He possesses just the right balance of leadership, vision and passion needed to lead the Landing School into the rapidly changing and technically complex marine industry of the early 21st Century.”
The Landing School launched its search for a new president last spring following the retirement of past-president and Landing School Founder John T. Burgess who remains on the school’s Board of Trustees. Board Chairman Santy and Trustees David Gould and Peter Worrell formed a Search Committee and engaged the Boston executive search firm of Egmont Associates to support their committee in conducting the search. They screened more than 160 candidates from 36 states and four countries before making their final selection.
“The new President will have to maintain a close relationship with a wide array of key marine industry leaders to help identify emerging trends in the industry and to develop educational components to meet evolving employer skill requirements,” said Santy. “Working with the Landing School’s staff, faculty and trustees, the president’s role will combine daily administrative oversight with on-going work to develop the vision and objectives for the school’s future, taking into account our mission, industry needs, enrollment trends, economic conditions and changes in public policy. Barry will play a central role in leading the school forward into the increasingly complex technical environment to which the marine industry is evolving,”
Founded in 1979 to provide educational programs that are a gateway to a career in the marine industry, the Landing School’s Programs currently include intensive ten-month courses in Small Boat Construction, Cruising Boat Construction, Yacht Design, and a comprehensive Marine Systems Technician Course developed six years ago to address unmet employment needs in the industry. Currently, the School is launching a Continuing Education program to bring skills training to professionals in the marine industry at their workplace.
