The Wisconsin Transportation Center (WisTrans) is a facilitating center in the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering focused broadly on transportation issues. It is governed by a 25 member Strategic Advisory Committee consisting of members from public and private sector agencies and companies. WisTrans, formally established in 2002 to coordinate transportation-related efforts at educational institutions in the state, sponsors a multidisciplinary Graduate Certificate program in Transportation Management and Policy through the Gaylord Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies. The Midwest Regional University Transportation Center (MRUTC) is an important part of the WisTrans network. The MRUTC has helped to sponsor and coordinate all of the meetings of stakeholders in WisTrans.
Some of the WisTrans strategic objectives include:
Increase the public and industry awareness of the resources that are available at the state’s universities.
Coordinate educational offerings to reduce duplication and leverage available resources.
Provide a forum for people with an interest in transportation to share ideas and experiences.
Increase the number and quality of students of transportation at the universities.
Coordinate and share research projects and results.
Serve as a point of entry of people in industry and the general public who attempt to access the resources of the universities.
Support the state department of transportation, local governments and planning agencies, and transportation industries with research and training activities.
WisTrans partner institutions include UW-Superior, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Platteville, Marquette University, and Lac Courtes Oreilles Ojibwa Community College. UW-Madison’s Law School, Business School, La Follette School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Nelson Institute, and COE’s Transportation Information Center and Department of Engineering Professional Development actively participate in WisTrans activities.
WisTrans sponsors lectures, conferences in Environmental Justice and Diversity in the Transportation Workforces, and a Summer Forum in Contemporary Issues in Transportation. WisTrans also supports the activities of the University of Wisconsin Transportation Society (UWiTS), a student organization on the UW-Madison campus.
Visit the UW-Madison Transportation Portal for more information on all of the programs at UW-Madison and around the state.
Last Updated May 21, 2009