Divers Academy International is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, for-profit technical educational institution in New Jersey that offers training in

commercial diving Commercial diving may be considered an application of professional diving where the diver engages in underwater work for industrial, construction, engineering, maintenance or other commercial purposes which are similar to work done out of the wate ...

and

underwater welding Hyperbaric welding is the process of welding at elevated pressures, normally underwater. Hyperbaric welding can either take place ''wet'' in the water itself or ''dry'' inside a specially constructed positive pressure enclosure and hence a dr ...

History

Divers Academy was founded in 1977 by Captain William M. Brown, a Korean War veteran, to meet the high demand for commercial divers in the offshore oil industry, inland harbors, and rivers. In 2006, the school was purchased by William Brown's daughter, Tamara Brown, who took over as president and CEO. In early 2022, she pled guilty to a charge of wire fraud after the U.S. Department of Justice accused her of "fraudulently obtaining funding from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the school and its students." The prosecutors also alleged that she falsified materials submitted to the school's accreditor in 2012. Originally named Divers Academy of the Eastern Seaboard, in 2001 the school was renamed Divers Academy International. As the commercial dive industry has evolved, Divers Academy has expanded the curriculum, certifications, facilities, technology, and faculty to meet current industry needs.

Campus

Divers Academy is currently based in

Erial, New Jersey Gloucester Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 64,634, reflecting an increase of 284 (+0.4%) from the 64,350 counted in the 2000 census. The township ranked ...

. It moved from its original campus in Camden, New Jersey to a custom-designed facility in Erial in 2006. The school campus includes a 32-acre 60-foot deep commercial dive training quarry,

hyperbaric Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure ...

chamber, Lincoln welding facilities and fully equipped classrooms. In 2013 Divers Academy expanded, adding a custom mixed gas deep dive training facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The 50-acre, 300 foot deep dive quarry is the deepest dive training quarry in the US, and is used exclusively for mixed gas deep dive training.

Accreditation

Divers Academy is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges. It is accredited or affiliated with technical and diving organizations such as the Association of Commercial Diving Educators (ACDE).

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1977 establishments in New Jersey Underwater diving organizations Gloucester Township, New Jersey