Webb Institute President, R. Keith Michel to retire; search committee has been announced

After nine years of service as Webb President, R. Keith Michel announced his plans to retire effective June 30, 2022.  He made the announcement at the October 15, 2020, Webb Board of Trustees Meeting, at which time the search for the sixteenth President was formally launched.

President Michel will leave a lasting influence on Webb with major milestone accomplishments including the Campaign for Webb, where members of the Webb community contributed a record-breaking $51.6 million in gifts and pledges; the design and construction of the state-of-the-art Couch Academic Center; and the expansion of the scholarship program to meet all demonstrated financial need of incoming students, to name a few.  Throughout President Michel’s tenure, Webb has continued to maintain its academic rigor, high graduation rates, and improved retention rates. During COVID-19, President Michel has continued to ensure the safety of students and employees as well as ensuring financial sustainability for Webb.

In August 2021, a committee of trustees, with the input of selected faculty members, administrators, and students, initiated a national search to identify qualified candidates. Jon LaBerge, Vice Chairman of Webb’s Board of Trustees, is chairing the search committee.  The search committee, working together with the national search firm WittKieffer, will conduct the search process, select and interview candidates, update the Webb community on the process and progress, and recommend a candidate to the Board for final approval.

“Webb provides a unique educational experience for its highly motivated and academically gifted student body,” notes Jon LaBerge, Chair of the Search Committee. “President Michel has had a remarkable tenure as President of Webb.  Selecting his successor to build on Webb’s recent successes and lead us into the future is a critically important role of the Board of Trustees and one that we take very seriously.  We look forward to an open and transparent process to identify a broad and diverse pool of candidates from which we will select Webb’s next president.”

The transition is expected to be complete by July 1, 2022. The finalists will be invited to campus to meet with the board, faculty, administration, and student representatives during the upcoming academic year.

The members of the search committee are as follows:

Jon J. LaBerge, Search Committee Chair; Bruce S. Rosenblatt, President of Bruce S. Rosenblatt & Associates, LLC; Dr. George Campbell Jr., President Emeritus of Cooper Union; Joseph J. Cuneo, retired Chairman of MARINEX International; Roderick MacKinnon, Professor at The Rockefeller University; Dr. Jennifer K. Waters, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at SUNY Maritime; and Christopher Wiernicki, Chairman, President, and C.E.O. of American Bureau of Shipping.

About Webb Institute:

Founded in 1889 by New York-based shipbuilder William H. Webb, Webb Institute is a top-ranked undergraduate institution specializing in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Webb is the only full-tuition scholarship, private undergraduate program of its kind in the United States, with a maximum of 28 students being accepted into the program each year. Webb Institute’s beautiful, waterfront campus, is located in Glen Cove, NY, on the North Shore of Long Island.

If you would like to apply, express a suggestion or an idea for consideration,
please email Lucy Leske and Julia Bradley at moc.reffeikttiw@tnediserPetutitsnIbbeW.

Please visit our Presidential Search webpage for updates: https://www.webb.edu/presidential-search/

Designers: Jonas Armstrong, Addison Harris, Kevin O’Keefe, and Gracie Schmitz

Vessel Type: Inland Waterways Dredge

Mission Requirements:
This self-propelled cutter suction dredger with hopper capacity will support maritime operations within the Nigerian Lagos Lagoon and associated waterways through channel deepening and maintenance dredging. It is designed to operate at extremely shallow drafts and has capability for offshore discharge of spoils.

Operating Modes:

▪ Discharge through bow nozzle during dredging
▪ Discharge through floating pipeline during dredging
▪ Dredging spoils to hopper for intermediate storage
▪ Hopper discharge through hopper doors, bow nozzle, or pipeline

View Built Different handout

View Presentation

Visit our Junior Class Small Vessel Design Project page to view all of this year’s projects.

About Junior Class Small Vessel Design Project (SD1):

As a part of Professor Bradley D.M. Golden’s ’99 Ship Design 1 (SD1) class, the juniors spent the first two-and-a-half months of the spring semester preparing their first complete concept designs.

Using the knowledge they’ve gained in their nearly three years studying at Webb and the experiences from their winter work periods to date, this was the students’ first opportunity to apply the naval architecture and marine engineering principles they’ve studied including stability, ship’s structures, main machinery systems, auxiliary systems, resistance and propulsion, and electrical engineering.

Working in small groups of three and four, the students selected one of the vessel types and took their first couple of spins around the design spiral to prepare vessel concept designs. To help make the project as realistic as possible, members of industry familiar with each of the vessel types helped prepare the statements of design requirements that each of the designs had to meet. To challenge the students even further, one or two “curveballs” were thrown into each design statement to make the students think long and hard about how they would achieve their objectives.

At the end of the spring semester, the students presented their final designs to their fellow students, faculty, and members of industry who served as part of an evaluation team. After three years at Webb, the Junior class can now say with confidence that they’re familiar with the design process and are well on their way to joining the fields of naval architecture and marine engineering.

List of Awards and Awardees

— Total Performance —

CHAFFEE MEMORIAL PRIZE
Lina Tenenbaum
for general excellence
{Sponsored by Trustee, Joseph J. Cuneo ’57}

— Leadership and Ethics —

PATRICK S. MATRASCIA GOOD SHIPMATE AWARD
Jackson Juska
for working unselfishly and in harmony with classmates
{Sponsored by President R. Keith Michel ’73 & Family}

THE CHARLES KURZ II (Hon.) COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Jackson Juska
for exemplary commitment of service to others through volunteerism, community service, and civic outreach
{Sponsored by Charles Kurz II (Hon.)}

PAUL E. ATKINSON MEMORIAL PRIZE IN ETHICS
Henry Rouland
for demonstrated commitment to ethics
{Sponsored by Paul E. Atkinson Memorial Fund}

— Academics —

J. LEWIS LUCKENBACH MEMORIAL PRIZE
Maggie Maguire
for highest general average in four year course
{Sponsored by the American Bureau of Shipping}

CHARLES A. WARD, JR. MEMORIAL AWARD
Maggie Maguire
for excellence in naval architecture
{Sponsored by Chairman of the Board, Bruce S. Rosenblatt and the Ward Family}

JENS T. HOLM ’41 MEMORIAL AWARD
Benjamin Hunt
for excellence in marine engineering
{Sponsored by George A. Gilmore ’57}

KEELER MEMORIAL PRIZE
Benjamin Hunt
highest average in mathematics
{Sponsored by Trustee, Dr. Luther Tai}

RICHARD A. PARTANEN HUMANITIES AWARD
Lina Tenenbaum
for excellence in humanities
{Sponsored by Chairman of the Board, Bruce S. Rosenblatt}

CURRAN MEMORIAL PRIZE
Alexander Bidwell
for most outstanding and consistent improvement
{Sponsored by Trustee and Mrs. John A. Malone ’71}

— Thesis —

STEVENSON TAYLOR MEMORIAL PRIZE
Jack Becker
Maggie Maguire
for excellence in the senior thesis
{Sponsored by the American Bureau of Shipping}

LEWIS NIXON MEMORIAL PRIZE
Benjamin Hunt
Alexander Koziol IV
for excellence in the senior thesis
{Sponsored by Trustee Emeritus, John W. Russell ’67}

Hometown: St. Inigoes, MD

Thesis Title: An Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Moonpool Recess Geometry on Added Resistance

Post Graduate Plans: Have an offer, but undecided

Favorite quote.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

What activities were you involved with at Webb?
Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, Sailing, Waterskiing, Webb Family Singers (WooFS), Anchor Club, Culture Club, Garage Club, Drone Club, Mobile Grilling Club, Green Club, Culture Club, Fishing Club, Ping-pong Club, Leadership Committee, and numerous other activities and events. There were many off-campus activities, too, such as Brooklyn Boatworks, church, and children’s ministry. And, of course, the broad range of spontaneous activities, too!

What’s your favorite spot on campus and why?
There are many spots I like on campus, but my favorite is the classroom. It’s where we live and work and spend time together more than in any other single place, and it holds a lot of memories.

What will you miss the most about Webb?
I love being around my classmates all the time! Leaving Webb will be like moving away from family all over again.

Do you have any advice for incoming students?
Love your classmates, forgive them, and care for them. It’ll be worth it.

Hometown: Pelham, NY

Thesis Title: An Investigation of Transom Stern Flow: An Evaluation of the Impact of Transom Radius

Post Graduate Plans: Excelerate Energy

Favorite Quote.
“Experience is making mistakes and learning from them” – Bill Ackman

Do you have any advice for incoming students?
Don’t be afraid to push yourself and broaden your horizons. You might surprise yourself with what you are capable of.

What was your favorite Winter Work internship?
My favorite internship is actually a series of internships I completed at Excelerate Energy. During my time with the company, I had the opportunity to work across Operations, Engineering & Technical, and Ship Management Departments. The opportunity to work on projects that help deliver clean, reliable energy around the globe was incredibly rewarding.

What was your favorite class at Webb and why?
Ship Design I because it was the first opportunity I had to apply the concepts I had learned over the past two years to a real-world project. Professor Golden did a fantastic job structuring the course and provided invaluable feedback throughout the design process.