Merchant Marine Academy chief steps down

Merchant Marine Academy chief steps down    Rear Adm. Allen Worley has resigned as superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, effective Jan. 4, the Department of Transportation announced Monday. Worley has been in his current position for only one year.
   Shashi Kumar, assistant superintendent for academic affairs, will serve as interim superintendent while the Maritime Administration conducts a nationwide search for a new school leader.
   The Merchant Marine Academy was created in 1943 to develop licensed officers for commercial shipping fleets.
   In the past year MarAd and the school have taken steps to attract more candidates such as cutting student fees in half, hiring an outside accounting firm to improve academy finances and establishing a blue-ribbon panel to catalog the school's capital needs and make recommendations for upgrades.