As a part of the Engineering Program, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) continues to be strongly committed to solving the problem of low numbers of women and minority Ph.D.s graduating from U.S. universities, a problem that makes recruitment extremely competitive and difficult. To that end, the Engineering Program Office has established a vigorous recruitment program to attract women and minority students for graduate study and research, with the intent of increasing the number of Ph.D. candidates and the available pool of women and minorities for future research and faculty positions. The program includes the Minority Scholars Program which provides stipends and summer employment to undergraduate women and minority students in science and engineering. The agency believes that by participating in this program, women and minority students will be actively encouraged to further their education in the science and engineering areas.
These actions reflect the priority the agency places on the recruiting, hiring, and retention of women and minorities. It represents the vigorous and continuing commitment of the agency and its administrators.
The agency continues to encourage women, African American, and Hispanic doctoral candidates to have visible research responsibilities as Graduate Assistants for research as well as sponsoring attendance at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) National Meeting and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) meetings.
TTI is the headquarters for the Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC). The SWUTC is a joint research effort between TTI, the Center for Transportation Research located at the University of Texas-Austin, and the Center for Transportation Training and Research located at Texas Southern University. Among the objectives of the SWUTC is to take a leadership role in nurturing, encouraging, motivating and challenging minority students and other underrepresented groups to consider careers in transportation including transportation education and research.
The agency has found the following methods to be most effective in meeting affirmative action goals for all TTI positions:
Increased communication with individuals in key decision-making positions has proven to be very effective. Currently the forum used is the TTI Program Manager and Division Head Meetings. These discussions serve to establish the need to take positive steps to attract and retain women and minorities with those individuals who have delegated hiring and promoting authority.
Opportunities are given to women and minorities currently employed within TTI to receive additional training through seminars and conferences, in hopes that such activities will strengthen backgrounds and increase their promotability.
Successful efforts have been made to establish female minority role models in professional positions within the administrative offices of the agency to increase the awareness of affirmative action goals as well as of the contributions of these talented individuals.
Communication efforts have been increased to encourage and assist administrators with the authority to hire and promote in meeting affirmative action objectives.
The agency has undertaken a variety of initiatives to demonstrate its continued concern for women and minorities. This includes the continuation of a summer internship program for qualified graduates and undergraduates.
The agency is inviting women and minority professionals, including those having recently completed a post-graduate degree or bachelors-level graduates with experience in academic research programs, to spend a summer or semester with the agency in a visiting research capacity. This allows these individuals to be exposed to the benefits of employment with the agency as well as contribute to a more diversified research outlook and environment.
On behalf of the agency, the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Employment Office assists in recruiting for all position vacancies. The following measures have been employed by the TAMU Employment Office to attract women and minority job applicants:
All TTI vacancies are posted online with the Texas A&M Engineering Jobs, the TTI Intranet Site, the TTI Website, and other media sources to enhance recruitment efforts. Links to TTI vacancies can be found at the web sites for the Texas Workforce Commission, Work in Texas, Texas A&M University System, and other System component institutions to help assure that women and minorities receive opportunities to apply for and secure employment and promotion.
Positions are occasionally advertised in professional publications which are circulated to faculty and researchers at many institutions, including those that are predominately minority.
Periodicals which may be used to post vacancies include, but are not limited to, these periodicals:
Austin American-Statesman
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Houston Chronicle
Navasota Examiner
Bryan-College Station Eagle
Dallas Morning News
Madisonville Meteor
ITE Journal
Audits are conducted by the Human Resources Officer to ensure that posters specifying employees' rights under Title VII, Executive Order 11246, the Equal Pay Act, and other federal regulations concerning equal employment opportunity are prominently displayed. Posters are required in areas where workers can reasonably be expected to visit frequently or to congregate.