Michigan State University (MSU) is taking a preemptive
approach to a predicted future railroad executive shortages. MSU’s new
Certificate Program in Railway will train students in every aspect of railway
operation.
According to excerpts from the article:
While some U.S. universities offer degrees in railroad
engineering, or courses relating to specific areas of railroad operations, MSU
has the only comprehensive educational program in the nation for railway
executives, according to program and industry officials.
Dennis Gilstad, chairperson and CEO of Fenton-based FCM
Rail, said the goal is eventually to broaden MSU’s program and offer master’s
and possibly bachelor’s degrees.
“There’s not a program like this in the Western Hemisphere,”
Gilstad said. “Our intent is for MSU to become the railway education and
research center of the world.”
Gilstad donated more than $1 million to help establish
the Edward A. Burkhardt Chair in Railway Management at MSU. The chair is named
for Edward A. Burkhardt, president and CEO of Rail World Inc. and Rail World
Holdings LLC, and a leader in railway management for nearly 50 years.
A search is under way for the Burkhardt chair; that
person will serve as the curriculum leader of the Railway and Transportation
Studies Program at MSU.
Due primarily to the growth of the railroad industry and
the aging of its executives, the industry is expected to hire 80,000 people
over the six-year period ending in 2012, according to the Association of
American Railroads in Washington, D.C.
Read the entire article here.
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