Transportation & Logistics Program Receives Award
By Daniel Fanning
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of its students, the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Transportation & Logistics Program has been awarded an annual educational scholarship of $50,000 for the next three years.
Since 2008, UW-Superior’s Transportation and Logistics (T & L) Management students have attended the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) Expo.
For the past two years, students have competed in the student case study competition against three other universities. This year’s competitors were Natalie Burger, Erica Hansen, and Matt Lindstedt. Also representing UW-Superior at the Expo were Margaret Atherton, Brian Bellin, Alison Dietz, Matt Glowacki, Sarah LaPorte, Tim Lazar, Jacob Mergen, Joe Wambach and Kathleen Youngberg.
A few weeks prior to the event, the students received a case study where they work together to come up with a solution. These students have proven their dedication and hard work and because of that, the IANA Executive Director, Joni Casey, has notified Dr. Richard Stewart, Professor and Mentor for Transportation and Logistics students, that the UW-Superior Transportation & Logistics Program has been awarded an educational scholarship of $50,000 a year for the next three years by the IANA Education Committee.
The T & L program at UW-Superior has been selected to receive this award because of high quality students. The students in the T & L program are hardworking, dedicated, and are known for their professionalism. T & L students are engaged in research with faculty, have completed internships and tours with industry related companies, attended industry related meetings, expos, and conferences.
The generous funding provided by IANA will be used to support the students in intermodal education in five key areas, including student education, academic scholarships, high school and non-traditional outreach events, student research and internship scholarships.
Student education includes students attending the IANA Expo annually where there is currently a competitive selection process that supports seven to eleven students. This is in addition to the three students competing in the competition, which are funded separately by IANA. Students will also participate in a leadership seminar, listen to guest speakers from the intermodal industry, and take field tours to different intermodal facilities. Funding will also be used to support T & L student education with simulation programs in the classroom.
Every year, the students of the Department of Business and Economics (DBE) at UW-Superior put on an awards banquet to recognize students for their achievements, as well as announce the scholarship recipients. The T & L program is housed in DBE. Up to eight qualified students will be awarded annually for an IANA Academic Excellence Scholarship for $1,000 each.
The T & L Program will also be supporting high school outreach events, such as the annual Michigan Technological University and UW-Superior co-sponsored Rail and Intermodal Youth Summer program as well as a new four day UW-Superior summer transportation program. These events are, in large part, planned and executed by the T & L students. As a Midwest transportation hub, the Twin Ports area provides the T & L Program with exceptional transportation facilities that provide hands-on experiences. The T & L Program has numerous avid industry supporters providing a wide range of activities.
An IANA Intermodal Research Fellowship will be rewarded to two upper level students who want to be engaged in intermodal research. Many students over the years have been involved with faculty on intermodal research projects.
T & L Management majors are required to do a minimum six-week internship after they have completed one of the upper division courses: Supply Chain Management or Transportation Economics.
IANA supports internship scholarships to students who the financial aid office has determined have financial need, are in good academic standing, and have been accepted for an internship with an IANA member or company that is engaged in a facet of intermodal operations. A total of five $2,000 scholarships will be awarded annually. IANA will also help with outreach to intermodal related companies to establish internship opportunities for students.
Without the interest and dedication of the students in the program, this scholarship would not have been awarded. With the award, the T & L Program can continue to offer a high quality program with excellent opportunities for students majoring in Transportation and Logistics Management.
Please, visit the T & L website for further information on the Transportation and Logistics Management Program. Visit http://intermodalexpo.com/ for more information on the IANA Intermodal Expo.