University Role in Transportation Workforce Development Activities

1. University Role in Transportation Workforce Development Activities David B. Clarke, Ph.D., P.E. August 4, 2015

2. Workforce Issues • Demographic Changes • Retirement wave • Changing worker expectations • Career Awareness and Training • Need transport focus in K-12 education • New Technologies • Changes in work performed • Changes in skills needed • Demand on Transportation Agencies • Need wider range of skills in workforce

3. Education Requirements • NCHRP 693 examined education requirements for transportation agency workers • A solid high-school education would suffice for over half • Less than one-third require 4+ years of college • Providers • Colleges and universities • Community colleges • Vocational centers • Union apprenticeship programs • Public sector job training programs • Military 2 years 12.6% 4+ years 31.8% OJT 55.5%

4. Traditional University Role in Education • Provide educational programs leading to degree • Baccalaureate (B.S., B.E., B.A.) • Masters (M.A., M.S., M.B.A.) • Doctoral (Ph.D., E.E.D., J.D., M.D., D.B.A.) • Programs offered vary by institution • Program content influenced by: • Academic tradition • Accreditation board requirements • Faculty interests and expertise • Facilities available to program • Competition with other universities • Stakeholder input • Changing or building a program takes time!

5. Agencies and College Recruiting • Agencies historically source from college engineering (e.g., Civil) or planning programs • Seek candidates well-grounded in core competencies supporting agency mission • Baccalaureate degree provides fundamentals • Co-ops/internships can provide transportation experience • Viewpoint on post-graduate education • Master’s degree can provide some value • Limited need for PhD hires • By 2020, 75% of the needed 4-year degrees will be in electrical engineering, computer science, and information management

6. The Academic Apprenticeship • Junior faculty follow a 6-year process to obtain academic tenure • Tenure metrics, based on annual evaluation, include • Research funding (role, amount, and “quality”) • Peer-reviewed paper publication in high-impact scholarly journals • Graduate student advising • Satisfactory teaching evaluations • Requisite numbers often unspecified • Tenure requires recommendations from department committee, department head, dean, provost, and external reviewers • One chance-denial derails academic career

7. Maintaining Program Faculty • Research has a major effect on academic program priorities and capabilities • Successful university faculty need • Publications (“publish or perish”) • Intellectually meaningful research • High-quality graduate (preferably doctoral) students • Funded research is the lifeblood of transportation faculty support • Tenure track faculty have limited ability to focus on undergraduate teaching or service activities • Recognize these realities to get transportation focused academic programs

8. Funding research at universities providesnot one, but two “DELIVERABLES” • The Research Product • The Graduates

9. The Center Model Center: [sen-ter] n. a point, place, person, etc., upon which interest, emotion, etc., focuses. v. to come to a focus; converge; concentrate.

10. University Transportation Centers Program • 1987: Surface transportation legislation first authorizes University Transportation Center (UTC) funding. • Program administered by Office of the Asst. Secretary for Research & Technology, USDOT • Competitive grant awards made periodically as directed by transportation legislation • Present center categories: National, Regional, Tier 1

11. UTC Resources Note: Only 2013 awardees shown Lead Member National Regional Tier I

12. UTC Activities • Academics • Educators • College students • K-12 students • Other universities • Other UTCs • Public agencies • Research centers • Engineers/Consultants • Industry associations • Suppliers • Transportation providers • Freight shippers

13. LTAP Centers

14. Student Support • Coordinating industry internships and co-ops • Graduate research fellowships • Summer internship programs • Undergraduate research projects • Student design competitions • Summer programs for K-12 students • Hosting campus transportation events • Presentations to student organizations • Organizing summer abroad education experiences • Assisting K-12 STEM programs in schools

15. Education Activities • Developing academic course content • Conducting specialized workshops for academic instructors • Developing and teaching instructor led short courses and seminars • Developing and presenting webinars • Establishing transportation engineering certificate programs • Establishing transportation post-graduate degree programs

16. Technology Transfer • Trade journal articles • Academic journal articles • Research reports and monographs • Conference presentations • Participation in USDOT research clusters • Educational symposia/conferences • Dissemination of educational materials • Product demonstrations • Draft specifications

17. Highlighting Transportation Careers

18. Recruiting and Interactions

19. Retaining the Next Generation

20. Conclusions • Universities have an important role in developing the future workforce • Universities need agency support to develop and maintain needed academic programs • Research support is vital! • Transportation focused university centers are addressing workforce needs • Centers integrate resources of internal and external partners • In teaching and recruiting, we must recognize generational differences

21. Thank You! Questions?