Dr. Rocco teaches composition, literature, film and graduate courses at SUNY Maritime.  He is the Coordinator of the Maritime and Naval Studies (MNST) Masters program.  He is also the Faculty Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence.  His research interests focus on Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway, maritime literature and culture, film, James Joyce, Modernism and archive studies. He previously taught at Queens College and Lehman College. He has written several books and contributed chapters to others. He is actively involved with digitizing years of records from Sailors' Snug Harbor and received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.