Page 10 - Port of Baltimore Jan/Feb 2011

[10] The Port of Baltimore ■ January/February 2011 To subscribe or renew, visitwww.marylandports.com
Soundings
EDUCATION
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Learning With ‘Vodcasts’ At Local College
T he Maryland Port Administration (MPA) and other members
of Baltimore’s port community have been working with
a local college to create a series of “vodcasts,” or video
interviews, to enhance the learning process.
Anne Arundel Community College, whose two main campuses
are located a short drive from both the Port and BWI Marshall
Airport, offers two certificate programs to enhance careers in
commercial transportation. Students can receive a certificate
in Transportation, Logistics and Cargo Security or Logistics and
Supply Chain Management. “They are academic credentials,
rather than industry certifications,” explained Gloria Sandstrom,
Coordinator of Sponsored Programs for the college. Emphasizing
the practical value of the courses, Sandstrom added, “Our current
students who work in the industry tell us that they are learning
about other areas of the transportation industry that they were
unfamiliar with, and also receiving information on the latest
industry methods and technologies.”
Officials from the Port of Baltimore and BWI Marshall Airport
collaborated to develop the Transportation, Logistics and Cargo
Security certificate in 2008. The Logistics and Supply Chain
Management certificate was created after a strong response
from students.
The MPA, Rukert Terminals Corporation, Consol Energy and
Securitas were heavily involved in the process. Mary Jane Norris,
MPA Manager, Port Operations Services, served as co-chair of the
program advisory committee. Brian Miller, MPA General Manager
of Terminal Operations, is one of the teachers, and Rebecca
Barber, MPA Communications Coordinator, assisted in production
on the terminals and the video interviews.
News of the program is spreading through the Port grapevine
by way of the Baltimore Port Alliance, Women’s Traffic and
Transportation Club and Baltimore Customs Brokers and
Forwarders Association.
Martha A. Smith, President of the college, and Maryland
Department of Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-
Staley filmed an introduction to the series. Twenty videos are in
production, featuring interviews with Mark Montgomery of Ports
America Chesapeake, Andrew Nixon of Rukert and Augustine
Moore of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, among others.
The certificates are funded by a $2.1 million, community-
based, job-training grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Employment and Training Administration. Although the grant
expires this December, the college is committed to a continuation
of the program.
NEWSMAKERS
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National Recognition For Seagirt Success
Anational transportation award was presented in
November to Frederick P. Rappe, Jr., Special Assistant
to the Secretary for the Maryland Department of
Transportation. Rappe spearheaded the complex infrastruc-
ture finance work necessary to execute one of the region’s
largest public-private partnership agreements, helping to
clear the way for the construction of a 50-foot berth at the
Port of Baltimore’s Seagirt Terminal.
“Thanks to Fred’s hard work in structuring this transaction, Maryland will be able to build
this 50-foot berth in time for the Panama Canal expansion,” said Transportation Secretary
Beverley K. Swaim-Staley.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
presented Rappe with its President’s Transportation Award for Intermodal Transportation
during the AASHTO annual meeting in Mississippi.
Serving MDOT as both Director of Planning and as Chief Financial Officer, Rappe has
dedicated nearly three decades to funding and planning key transportation projects for
Maryland.
“Marylanders should be proud of Fred,” said AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley.
“He exemplifies the tremendous expertise that is found in DOTs throughout America, working
to solve problems and make a better transportation system.”
As outlined in the Seagirt agreement, Ports America is investing in the new berth as well
as other necessary infrastructure at the terminal, saving the state hundreds of millions of
dollars. Ports America is also making an annual payment to the state and providing ongoing
revenues to the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) during the life of the agreement.
NEWSMAKERS
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Whaling Appointed MPA
Deputy Counsel
hil Whaling was recently
appointed by the Attorney
General of Maryland to be
the new Deputy Counsel for the
Maryland Port Administration
(MPA). Whaling has worked for the
MPA Office of the Attorney General
since 2006 as an Assistant Attorney
General, successfully representing
the MPA before numerous courts
and administrative bodies and
serving as the primary attorney
for the MPA on employment and
security matters.
“Phil is a gifted litigator and true
team player,” said Robert Munroe,
Principal Counsel. “His promotion to
Deputy Counsel is a well-deserved
recognition of the fine work and
solid counsel he has provided to the
MPA over the years.”
BILL MCALLEN
JACK CAHALAN