The USDOT Volpe Center was retained by NCDOT to conduct a studies on ways to successfully engaging HBCUs and MSIs in transportation research and transportation workforce development activities.
Transportation Research Assessment of North Carolina HBCUs & MSI
The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) research program has focused on better utilizing the research strengths of the state’s HBCUs and MSIs. These schools have shown untapped potential for conducting state transportation research on a wide array of topics, including aviation, next-generation Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing, public administration, automated vehicles and advanced engineering. With their strong connections to surrounding regions and experience in conducting in-depth, community-based research, North Carolina’s HBCUs and MSIs are well-positioned to expand their contributions in meaningful ways to both the state’s transportation research program and national research opportunities.
The North Carolina HBCUs and MSI Transportation Research Assessment summarizes each of the 10 HBCUs and one MSI in the state. The summaries describes each school’s transportation-related academic programs, research efforts, curricular programs and community initiatives, and opportunities for, and barriers to, increasing transportation research capacity. Information reported in these summaries was collected during onsite interviews with faculty and staff and discussions with the Offices of Sponsored research and other administrators.
Developing a School to Transportation Workforce Pipeline in North Carolina
This report identifies gaps, opportunities, and potential solutions to strengthen connections between North Carolina’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)/Minority Serving Institution (MSI) students and transportation career opportunities in the state. The report defines a framework to generate interest among HBCU students in transportation and related careers, and to bridge the gaps between students and the specific skills and professional experience required to enter transportation careers.
This report builds upon these findings to describe the most effective methods for engaging students in a workforce pipeline program and identify initiatives across the nation that have been successful in this type of effort. Next, the report analyzes current efforts at NCDOT and describes how each fits into the proposed framework, and identifies methods for enhancing this programming to strengthen the pipeline program at NCDOT.
