DEPUTY SECRETARY DOWNEY ANNOUNCES $500,000 GRANT TO GREAT LAKES CENTER FOR TRUCK AND TRANSIT RESEARCH

Topics:  Mortimer L. Downey

USDOT Research & Special Projects Administration
March 31, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 31, 1998
Contacts: William Vincent/Patricia Klinger
Telephone: (202) 366-4831
RSPA 7-98

LIVONIA, Mich. -- Deputy U.S. Transportation Secretary Mortimer L. Downey today announced a $500,000 grant to the Great Lakes Center for Truck and Transit Research, which has its headquarters at the University of Michigan.

Downey, participating in the Hewlett Packard Automotive Technology Seminar, said "President Clinton understands that what we most need to meet the challenges of the 21st century are people: well-educated, well-trained people who can help us to compete, and win, in a high-technology global economy. This grant shows the President’s commitment to giving us the next generation of transportation professionals."

The $500,000 grant will help to fund educational programs during the coming 1998-99 academic year at the Great Lakes Center, a consortium composed of Central State University, Eastern Michigan University, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.

The Great Lakes Center concentrates on the theme of "Enhancing Commercial Highway Transportation." The Center conducts research, educates students in transportation disciplines, shares research and technology with transportation users, and promotes the inclusion of African- Americans, women and other groups traditionally under-represented in transportation.

The grant, which must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the recipients, is made through the Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers program, which supports advanced transportation education and research programs. The program involves more than 60 schools throughout the United States, and already has resulted in more than 1,100 research reports and involved more than 3,500 students and faculty in the study of transportation.