U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that he has selected Rear Admiral Tony Ceraolo as superintendent and Johnathan Gajdos as provost at the academy in Kings Point.

The move comes in the wake of what the academy called "years of neglect" under the previous administration, according to an academy news release Thursday.

Ceraolo spent 34 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, and Gajdos spent more than 15 years in administrative and teaching roles at the Defense Language Institute of Foreign Language Center in California.

"Rear Admiral Tony Ceraolo and Dr. Johnathan Gajdos are precisely the leaders the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy needs at this critical moment," Duffy said in a news release. "These men bring the experience, discipline, and vision required to reverse years of decline at the Academy."