The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Has Suffered Under Woke Leftist Leadership

Cross-posted from our latest project, RestoretheMilitary.com, where we're exposing the woke officers pushing DEI, Critical Race Theory, and transgenderism on our troops

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Superintendent Joanna Nunan has pushed a pro-transgender, anti-Christian, DEI agenda since her appointment by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in December 2022. Her focus on social issues rather than infrastructure and preparedness has caused significant harm to the prestigious academy. Her woke actions are no surprise since she was head of DEI at the Coast Guard Academy prior to assuming the lead position at USMMA.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy is a taxpayer-funded federal service academy in Kings Point, New York. It produces highly trained commissioned military officers and mariners imperative to the nation’s military and commercial shipping industry.

The number of applicants to the school dramatically decreased in two years—by 22 percent. “Diversity representation” increased but average standardized test scores among those accepted decreased significantly. All on Nunan’s watch.

Transportation Dept. Sec. Sean Duffy, who oversees USMMA, recently visited the school. He was shocked by the disrepair and infrastructure problems. He has since quickly taken action to move projects forward.

Despite generous congressional budget appropriations to the academy for infrastructure needs, in 2024 the Government Accountability Office found the academy did not put in place proper leadership or workforce planning to move projects forward. In other words, a failure of leadership by Nunan to implement infrastructure plans. She was too distracted with implementing her social agenda.

Nunan’s legacy will certainly be defined by her removal of a painting that she deemed offensive. A famous historic heritage asset painting, Christ on the Water, depicts Jesus watching over distressed sailors at sea. It hung for 80 years in a place of prominence at USMMA until Nunan had it reduced in size, discarded its historic frame, and placed it in a damp, flood-prone basement.

During Sec. Duffy’s visit, he spoke to the Class of 2025 and his final rhetorical question during his speech was, “Can we bring Jesus out of the basement?” That statement met with a thunderous, standing ovation and Duffy has since committed the painting would return to its place of prominence.

Other actions of Nunan that are cause for removal include:

• Nunan hired a far-left extremist as the sexual assault response director of USMMA at a salary of $143,000 per year. Anton Tripolskii posted bigoted social media rants, including exclaiming: “We don’t have forces who do right by survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence because we don’t have forces who don’t abuse Brown and Black people. Same forces, same reasons. Misogyny and racism grow from the same white, male root.”

Tripolskii posted a picture depicting a church being closed and blocked by the police. His caption was, “This is my heaven.” He also retweeted a post that read “let that be a lesson to anyone who dares to challenge the great Satan” and advocated for defunding the police.

Tripolskii still remains in his highly paid position and should be fired along with Nunan.

• Nunan was named as a defendant in a court case involving the sexual assault of a Coast Guard cadet, Josh Roh. Court documents detail the horrific assault of Roh but instead of supporting him, Roh was disciplined and denied a commission 8 days before graduation. Roh appealed his case to Nunan (she was then in charge of the appeals at the Coast Guard Academy) with 124 pages of exhibits seeking a reversal of the discipline. Just one day later Nunan denied his appeal without reason. In 2023, the case was settled and Roh was given his degree and permitted to commission.
• Despite the Defense Department rescinding the COVID vaccine mandate on Jan. 10, 2023, Nunan kept the mandate in place at USMMA until March 10, 2023. The application deadline for the 2023–24 school year was March 1, 2023, so her extension of the mandate required all those applicants to be vaccinated.
• Reportedly Nunan asked a midshipman to conduct a poll regarding the term “midshipmen” because some in leadership felt the term was a “threat to diversity and inclusion.” A suggested alternative was “midship-people.” The polling results indicated 100 percent of the midshipmen were in favor of notchanging the longstanding means of addressing the students.
• In October 2023, Nunan created a new policy that allowed biological men to use the same bathrooms, locker rooms, and living quarters as women. “Trans” men who identified as women were also authorized to compete in women’s sports. Perhaps most egregiously, Nunan unilaterally decided to permit transgender midshipmen to receive a waiver from obligated military service.
• After Duffy’s recent visit to the academy and midshipmen advocating to bring the Christ on the Water painting out of the basement, the Christian Post reported that an anti-Christian activist, Mikey Weinstein, referred to the Christian midshipmen as “Christian nationalist insects” and “cowards.” Weinstein was the activist Nunan bowed to regarding the removal of the painting. Shamefully, Nunan remained silent when the integrity and faith of the honorable midshipmen at her school were attacked.

There are many reasons to fire Nunan, but her silence and lack of defense of the USMMA Christian midshipmen who were attacked top them all. Nunan and her woke minions such as Anton Tripolskii need to be rooted out and removed from the academy immediately.

We're naming names and charting a path for a 21st century military at RestoretheMilitary.com—check it out today