Chancellor Sharp Greets Sea Aggies with Good News    

October 27, 2011

“My job as chancellor is to make sure you have access to resources you need to succeed,” he said.

And for students, that means jobs. For maritime cadets, it’s a new training ship and for the campus community it’s support of excellence in research and teaching.

Chancellor Sharp pointed to a major maritime event that will take place in a few years as well as the need for a new training ship.

“Right here is going to be the epicenter of incredible commerce due to the expansion of the Panama Canal,” he said. “There’s going to be a significant change in shipping and all that shipping traffic will not be going to California. They’re going to the Port of Houston and the Port of Galveston.”

And for cadets in the Texas Maritime Academy, Sharp said he was committed to getting a certified training ship.
The current ship, which is docked at the Galveston campus, doesn’t meet mandated requirements to take the students out to sea. Since 2004, A&M cadets have boarded the Golden Bear at the California Maritime Academy, with increasing cost to students.

About his appointment as Chancellor, Sharp said, “this is an amazing place, and we’re proud of it, and I’m so proud to be a part of it.”