HOUSTON, April 2, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Texas Southern University is partnering with the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) on a new degree program in Maritime Transportation Management and Security. This program will address three highly prioritized national transportation needs: logistics, security and environment.
This is the first such university degree program related to Maritime Transportation and Security in Houston and the first such program at any Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the country. Preparing graduates in this proposed degree program is not only important to the regional economy but also significant to meeting the workforce needs of the Port of Houston as well as the maritime industry.
PHA has committed $2 million to the program over a two-year period. As outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding, the funds will be primarily allocated to develop, promote, recruit and graduate students from the Maritime Transportation Management and Security Program at Texas Southern University.
"We are extremely excited about our new Maritime Transportation Management and Security degree program and grateful to the Port of Houston Authority for its commitment to supporting this important initiative," says Dr. John Rudley, TSU President. "This partnership is a perfect realization of Texas Southern's commitment to providing our students with cutting-edge, relevant academic programs that speak to the real needs of today's and tomorrow's job markets."
PHA Chairman James T. Edmonds, whose organization has a long history of education involvement through the granting of scholarships and an extensive college intern program, calls the new partnership "timely, strategic and mutually beneficial."
"Recently, there has been a global call for an infusion of prepared workforce into the maritime industry," Edmonds says. "This partnership integrates the resources of two dynamic Houston institutions committed to advancing education, commerce and improving quality of life. The success of this program will reap benefits that will be felt locally, nationally and around the world."
The new program allows the university to partner with the vital public component of the Port of Houston, one of the region's main employers, while creating a program that will not only positively impact Texas Southern students, but also expose area high school students to maritime employment opportunities. It's initiatives like this -- the Maritime Transportation Management and Security program -- that illustrate Texas Southern's move towards becoming one of the nation's leading, urban-serving educational institutions, TSU officials say.
"Recent studies have pointed to the challenge to continue to grow a well-prepared, diverse workforce to serve the maritime industry," says PHA Commissioner Kase Lawal. "Our partnership announced today is an important step by the port authority and TSU to work together to develop an innovative academic program and research efforts to address this challenge. Aside from developing a strong academic program, we are excited about the opportunity to produce major transportation-related research projects, which will complement the university's newly established National Transportation Security Center of Excellence for Petrochemicals."
Herbert H. Richardson, director emeritus and distinguished professor of engineering, Texas A&M University, says, "This program is important to the maritime industry as it faces challenges of productivity, security and environmental impact in the decades ahead. Although the economy is down at present, it is certain to recover, producing unprecedented demands on Texas' ports and related marine industries. These demands require workers with new skills and capabilities that are in short supply in the existing workforce."
These programs will be significant steps toward giving better access to maritime careers, by tying into TSU's and PHA's existing partnerships with area high schools, including a high school maritime academy program that PHA is developing with industry partners.
"Since this will be the only university degree maritime transportation program in Houston and the first such program at a Historically Black College or University, the Texas Southern University program is filling a significant need," says Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, HISD Superintendent of Schools. "It completes the educational path from a high school maritime program to a university degree and a career in a field that is rapidly expanding."
C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, says, "The proposed program addresses a growing need in the U.S. and abroad for individuals educated in the aspects of an expanding global trade enterprise via the maritime industry. Houston is a catalyst for such a program because it is a major city in a dynamic country and state, has a world-class port with an established maritime business and is strategically located."
About Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University, one of the nation's largest HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), possesses an impressive array of undergraduate and graduate programs, a diverse faculty, more than 80 student organizations, and an alumni network comprised of educators, entrepreneurs, public servants, lawyers, pilots, artists, and more, many of whom are change agents on the local, national and international stage. Nestled upon a sprawling 150-acre campus, Texas Southern University has served as a cornerstone for developing the greatest potential in leaders from various socioeconomic, cultural, and racial backgrounds. For more information, visit www.tsu.edu.
About the Port of Houston Authority
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, there are more than 8,000 vessel calls at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
To access the port's Web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.
The Port of Houston Authority logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=720