CASTINE – Dr. William B. Eisenhardt, a veteran faculty member at Maine Maritime Academy, will leave the college this semester to pursue the presidency of like-minded California Maritime Academy.

Eisenhardt announced his resignation Thursday, after being offered the post in Vallejo, Calif. He will begin his new duties July 1.

“Our friends in California have made a wise choice,” said MMA President Leonard Tyler in a statement released Friday. “Dean Eisenhardt’s depth of experience, his grasp of maritime education internationally, and his leadership qualities will have a major impact.”

Eisenhardt has spent the past dozen years in Castine, serving as director of leadership programs, assistant professor of economics and management, commandant of midshipmen and academic dean.

Since 1994, he has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at MMA. In this administrative role, Eisenhardt has worked at home to expand the school’s academic programs. He has also earned worldwide recognition for his work as chairman of the International Association of Maritime Universities’ editorial board.

Eisenhardt brings his prior experience at Husson College in Bangor and St. Joseph’s College in Standish, to the new position; as well as an education that includes stints at the U.S. Naval Academy and Duke and Harvard universities.

At the West Coast academy, he will preside over 650 students in a military-style setting akin to 700-student MMA. All students at California Military academy participate in a cadet corps and make annual training cruises aboard the school’s ship, Golden Boar.

The schools share the distinction of being among only six maritime colleges nationwide.

Unlike private MMA, the California Maritime Academy is a public school, under the auspices of the California State University System. However, its curriculum in marine transportation, engineering and business administration is similar to that which Eisenhardt helped to develop at MMA.

“Although I look forward to my new assignment, this was not an easy choice,” Eisenhardt said in a statement released Friday. “My time here has been rewarding in every sense.”

MMA has appointed Dr. John Barlow to serve as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs until a successor to Eisenhardt has been hired. A search for candidates will begin soon, according to MMA spokesman John Staples.