Meet an Instructor
Meet TLGC Instructor Michael Audino
Audino teaches Current Issues in Airport Management, which offers a comprehensive understanding of the critical management and organizational leadership issues impacting the operations and growth of airports within the United States.
Audino currently serves as a Senior Researcher with the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida where he facilitates and develops strategic and operational plans, designs and implements communications and public outreach initiatives, develops and delivers education seminars, and leads applied research and special project initiatives for a variety of aviation and public transportation clients. He is a proud member of the Airport Cooperative Research Program Speakers Bureau and has served on numerous ACRP project panels.
Meet TLGC Instructor Dr. Subhro Mitra
Dr. Mitra teaches Transportation System Modeling and Urban Transportation Systems Analysis, both of which use real world data and situations for learning.
Dr. Mitra is an Associate Research Fellow at the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, and a faculty in the Transportation Logistics PhD program. He has several years of diverse work experience in both operational and technical aspects of transportation and highway engineering, along with being the principal investigator on several transportation research studies.
Meet TLGC Instructor Dr. Jill Hough.
Dr. Hough teaches Public Transportation, which offers students a unique opportunity for mentorship by an industry leader.
Dr. Jill Hough, TLGC instructor and the Program Director of the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center within the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, has matched up students from her Public Transportation course with industry mentors from across the country. Hough developed the program in 2011 in response to the call from industry professionals for better workforce development within higher education and continues it in 2012.
Mentors see the program as extremely valuable, offering students insight that comes from experience rather than a textbook. Additionally, the mentorship program opens a gateway for the industry to communicate with educators about the best practices for preparing students to become leaders in the industry.
“We need to have this dialogue so that classes are being crafted around real time transportation challenges,” said Robert Prince, Vice President of AECOM, who mentored a student in 2011 and again in 2012.
David Lee, General Manager of Connecticut Transit and 2011 mentor, believes mentorship programs are critical to the development of students seeking careers in the industry. Many opportunities from partnerships between education and industry, he said, have not been fully realized.
Students also note the value of the mentorship opportunity, saying that the knowledge transit leaders provided gave insight into policies, management and other challenges leaders face. Hearing the perspective of professionals who have first-hand knowledge of the industry also helped students see what they are learning put into practice in real-life situations.
Public Transportation Student Dilip Mistry, said that the mentorship program helps students see how partnerships between industry and education are beneficial, paving the way for the students to become mentors one day and sustaining such programs.
Educators and industry leaders alike know that creating a partnership between higher education and the transportation industry is vital to the continued success of the industry. While students can learn much from their mentors, Hough stresses that “students can share innovative and creative ideas with the industry and help move the industry forward.”
The necessity of university-industry partnerships was addressed at the 2011 American Public Transportation Association’s Bus and Paratransit Conference. Hough moderated a panel of transit professionals as they discussed educating the transportation workforce. Additionally, the session included roundtable discussions led by the mentors and other professionals on topics in transportation education.