Lamar establishes ‘Center for Advances in Port Management’
2017, November 1: Lamar University in Texas has appointed industry expert Erik Stromberg the first Executive Director of its Center for Advances in Port Management.
He formally assumed the role in the Spring of 2016 and has been establishing relationships in the Caribbean through the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC).
Erik Stromberg brings decades of experience in public ports to the new position. A consultant in port management, he served as CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) for nearly a decade and as head of the North Carolina State Ports Authority for 10 years.
Commenting on the role to be played by the Lamar Center for Advances in Port Management, Stromberg said: “There are simply too few academic institutions in the U.S. that address port management. The effort to successfully marry Lamar University’s resources with industry experts to educate and place students in the port and terminal industry is profoundly important.”
It offers a comprehensive on-line programme focused on the needs of the port and marine terminal industry in filling next generation leadership and cutting-edge research needs. The goal is to fulfill the human resource training and research needs of ports and marine terminals, large and small, across all functionalities and geographies.
Kurt Nagle, AAPA CEO, is of the opinion that “… the Center will fulfill our industry’s long-standing dream of having an academic venue to gain both the theoretical and practical knowledge that will well prepare the next generation of port managers.”
Courses are offered through a partnership between Lamar’s colleges of Business and Engineering. The online, digital learning platform provides a flexible, tech-savvy education for working professionals who can take classes from where they work and live. The Centre will offer Masters degrees as well as more specific certifications in port and marine terminal management; and, port management concentrations in conjunction with a Masters of Business Administration or a Masters in Engineering Management.
Lamar University has a total student population of over 15,000. []
