28 September 2010
RALEIGH ––Transportation Secretary Gene Conti and Dr. Dianne Boardley Suber, president of Saint Augustine’s College have formed a partnership to create an innovative and unique training initiative at the historically black college. An agreement to develop this training program was signed today on campus.
The NCDOT and Federal Highway Administration awarded a $500,000 grant to the college to create the program titled the “Right of Way Training Curriculum Program or ROW program”-- the first program of its kind in the state.
The program is designed to:
Increase the pool of potential ROW professionals;
Increase the number of ROW internships within NCDOT and other transportation partners; and
Increase the number of minorities in transportation-related careers.
The ROW program is an entry-level development program that offers a combination of courses that will develop students’ expertise and understanding of acquiring real estate and right of way for transportation projects. Students enrolled in the one-year program can develop analytical and problem-solving skills, receive on-the-job and formal classroom training and acquire appropriate research skills for use within the NCDOT and FHWA.
This partnership will support the advancement of minorities in transportation-related careers; it is part of the Department's efforts to develop interest and attract and recruit minorities to work in the transportation industry, including the NCDOT.
The NCDOT encourages transportation curriculums within HBCU academic programs in hopes of bridging the gap between these higher education institutions and the transportation industry.
To learn more about the NCDOT’s HBCU program, visit http://www.ncdot.gov/careers/careerdev/collegeprograms.html#HBCU.
