SUNY Maritime College will hold its annual Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner on May 2, 2017, at the Marina del Rey in Throggs Neck. A fixture of SUNY Maritime’s major events for decades, the dinner honors alumni and industry professionals and raises funds for student scholarships.

This year, the dinner will celebrate five SUNY Maritime alumni: Bartley Eckhardt ’79; Kevin Graney ’86; and Christopher Hughes, Russell Paret and Keith Zelinsky, all of the class of 1992.

“We are delighted once again to host the Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner where we recognize the incredible successes of each honoree, as well as the generosity and friendship they have shown to SUNY Maritime College,” said Rear Adm. Michael Alfultis, college president. 

Eckhardt is the president and CEO of Robson Forensic, Inc. The company provides technical investigation, analysis, reports and testimony toward the resolution of litigation. Eckhardt has been a testifying expert in matters of marine and mechanical engineering since joining the firm and has investigated hundreds of matters. He graduated from SUNY Maritime with a degree in Marine Engineering and serves on the college’s engineering advisory board.

Graney is the president of General Dynamics/NASSCO. He worked his way up in General Dynamics Electric Boat, starting as a senior engineer and becoming the company’s program manager of capital projects and metrics at its Virginia-class submarine office. He joined NASSCO in 2006 and became its president earlier this year.

Paret and Zelinsky founded Dome Chartering and Schuyler Line Navigation in 1997. Hughes joined the venture shortly after its founding. Together, the three have built two companies. Dome represents owners and charterers around the world and serves as a commercial manager for several maritime companies. Schuyler Line specializes in the niche cargo preference and commercial markets, and with that focus, has risen to the fore of the U.S.-flag market. In the past decade, the company has become one of the most competitive US-based maritime operations. The company owns six U.S.-flag ships and one foreign-flag ship.

For the first time in its history, the college will move the dinner off-campus to meet the demand for tickets. Held at the nearby Marina del Rey, the event’s attendees will still have a view of the iconic Empire State VI.