Introduction: South Carolina State University invites applications and nominations for the position of Executive Director, the James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center. The position provides the strategic vision and leadership to ensure excellence in transportation-related research and educational programs, administration, outreach, and workforce development that aligns with the University’s land grant mission, advancing the university, the State, and the nation.
The University and College: South Carolina State University is a historically Black public 1890 land grant senior comprehensive institution. located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. South Carolina State University is committed to providing affordable and accessible quality baccalaureate programs in the areas of business, applied professional science, mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, engineering technology, education, arts and humanities. Several programs are offered at the master’s level in teaching, human services and agribusiness and the educational specialist and doctorate programs are offered in educational administration.
SC State University prepares highly skilled competent and socially aware graduated to enable them to work and live productively in dynamic global society. Through technology and traditional methods of teaching and learning, research, and service the university enhances the quality of life of its citizens and contributes to the economic development of the state and nation.
College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Transportation (STEM-T)
The college is organized into the Department of Engineering, Department of Engineering Technology, the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, and the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences. Through these administrative units, the college provides the educational setting, the laboratories, the programs, and the faculty to assist students in developing the professional and technical competencies required to function effectively in their career fields
The Center: The James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center (Center) is designed to assist federal, state and local agencies in achieving their goals to develop a highly skilled workforce to meet future transportation needs. In addition, the Center is designed to address the Secretary of Transportation’s priorities (Safety, Innovation, and Infrastructure) to improve the nation’s transportation system. The major focus of the Center is intermodal transportation: road, rail and maritime. These modes of transportation are addressed through four pillars: 1) education; 2) research and development; 3) workforce development and outreach; and 4) technology transfer. These pillars represent a broad spectrum in the research and education arena and provide avenues for conducting and disseminating research and development results and educational programs. The Center offer tremendous benefits to the University, surrounding institutions, the private sector, the car industry, public schools, the state of South Carolina, and the nation.
The vision of the Center is to develop technology-enabled intermodal transportation systems that promote economic productivity, global competitiveness, and quality of life.
The primary mission of the Center is to promote inter-modal transportation systems that will stimulate the movement of people, goods, and services and to develop a technology–enabled environment that supports safety, innovation, and infrastructure in Transportation at the national, state, and local levels.
The goals of the Center include:
1. Education and Outreach: to provide a multi-disciplinary program of courses through the Master of Science in Transportation program with experiential learning that reinforces the vision and mission of the Center.
2. Workforce Development: to provide a multi-disciplinary program that educates and prepares individuals to meet the needs of the transportation industry through the Master of Science in Transportation program to maintain a sustainable competitive economic environment.
3. Research:to provide a program of basic and applied research in which the outcomes are evaluated by peers and/or other experts in the field to advance the theory and practice in transportation and related fields. Additionally, the program fosters sound linkages among colleges and universities, government, and the private sector. This will cultivate and sustain a high standard of technical expertise in transportation research by the faculty and students at SC State.
4.Technology Transfer: to disseminate of new knowledge of transportation systems resulting from research work at the Center for public use in a form that can be directly implemented, utilized and/or applied.
Duties:
This position requires:
- A creative leader and experienced strategist.
- Exemplary communication and collaboration skills needed to sustain and create productive and positive relationships with internal and external partners, stakeholders, and constituents.
- The skills necessary to inspire new and innovative strategic initiatives that will maintain and grow the Center’s areas of research, outreach, and workforce development for the benefit of the local, state, and national interest.
- The ability to identify funding opportunities and assemble teams to secure funding that will build a diverse, relevant, and effective transportation research and education portfolio.
- Leadership to foster collaboration with faculty and researchers both within and external to SC State.
- The experience and commitment to holistic diversity as it pertains to recruitment, retention, and development of staff.
- The experience necessary to implement and manage plans, personnel, budgets, facilities, and equipment in a manner consistent with State and University policies.
- Substantial experience writing technical reports and papers, preferably science and engineering research reports.
- Demonstrated ability to create new funding opportunities by “connecting-the-dots”, preferably bringing industry and academia together to engage in engineering research.
- Experience conducting and/or managing research in a university environment
Detailed Duties: The James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center Executive Director will oversee the development of the organizational infrastructure (systems, internal and external websites, project management software, etc.) and supervise the personnel necessary to meet all of the University, SC DOT and US DOT requirements and grant deliverables. This position will handle all administrative requests made by the SCDOT and USDOT to the JECUTC Executive Director. He/she will oversee JECUTC communications and fiscal staff and administrative assistant. In addition, the director will coordinate work of academic faculty to ensure that each research project has clear objectives, milestones, and deliverables, and stays on track and budget. He/she will ensure that JECUTC research, reports and public documents are delivered on time and are of the highest quality. The JECUTC director will promote and grow JECUTC activities with external constituents beyond the US DOT, including potential research collaborators, state DOTs, engineering practitioners and the private sector. The JECUTC director will coordinate and facilitate advancing transportation expertise and technology by JECUTC researchers through research, education and workforce development, and technology transfer.