Port Management Education: Lamar University
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Lamar University Names Stromberg Executive Director for Center for Advances in Port Management
Lamar University has tapped former AAPA CEO Erik Stromberg as the first executive director of its Center for Advances in Port Management.
The Center for Advances in Port Management is dedicated to teaching the next generation of port professionals and conducting waterfront community research. The Center, which began in 2015 in the Department of Industrial Engineering, is supported by a $2.72 million special appropriation from the State of Texas.
Mr. Stromberg served as president of American Association of Port Authorities from 1987 to 1995 and as chief executive the North Carolina State Ports Authority from 1995 to 2004.He joined the AAPA staff in 1985 as director of government relations.
While at AAPA, he initiated the association’s marine terminal training conference, reinvigorated its Puerto Amigos outreach to Latin America, and helped create its Professional Port Manager (PPM) certification program.
Mr. Stromberg was most recently senior port advisor with an engineering consulting firm, where he focused on strategic asset management, strategic planning, stakeholder alignment and governance.
In conjunction with his work with major engineering firms, he also worked as an independent consultant, as Stromberg Associates, from 2004 to present.
"We are very pleased to have an executive director who brings such a breadth of knowledge and skills in the broader port and related maritime industries said Lamar University President Kenneth Evans. "We will leverage LU’s outstanding faculty expertise and draw the very best from globally sourced experts in the field as lecturers and adjunct faculty."
Mr. Stromberg holds a master’s degree from the Institute for Marine Studies at the University of Washington, where he became the first student in the program with an emphasis on port authorities. Upon graduation he was selected as one of 10 national Sea Grant Fellows working on federal policy issues in a staff capacity for the U.S. House of Representatives.
"The Center’s practitioner-focused program, accessed through the university’s leading edge, on-line, remote learning capabilities, enables Lamar to provide a unique education experience. We expect that a large number of students will come from port and related industries seeking a career-enhancing educational opportunity. The Center’s Master’s program will fit the needs of all our students, from those on a traditional college track to our census of mid-career port professionals," Mr. Stromberg said.
The Center for Advances in Port Management has a research mission to study and improve ports in Texas and around the world. Illustrative research topic areas include: Economic Impact Studies and Long Range Planning; Capital Projects and Project Management; Safety, Security, and Risk Management; Port Marketing and Business Development; Port Management; Cyber Security; Logistics Modeling; Labor and Environmental Regulations; and Scheduling and Simulation.
Lamar University has tapped former AAPA CEO Erik Stromberg as the first executive director of its Center for Advances in Port Management.
The Center for Advances in Port Management is dedicated to teaching the next generation of port professionals and conducting waterfront community research. The Center, which began in 2015 in the Department of Industrial Engineering, is supported by a $2.72 million special appropriation from the State of Texas.
Mr. Stromberg served as president of American Association of Port Authorities from 1987 to 1995 and as chief executive the North Carolina State Ports Authority from 1995 to 2004.He joined the AAPA staff in 1985 as director of government relations.
While at AAPA, he initiated the association’s marine terminal training conference, reinvigorated its Puerto Amigos outreach to Latin America, and helped create its Professional Port Manager (PPM) certification program.
Mr. Stromberg was most recently senior port advisor with an engineering consulting firm, where he focused on strategic asset management, strategic planning, stakeholder alignment and governance.
In conjunction with his work with major engineering firms, he also worked as an independent consultant, as Stromberg Associates, from 2004 to present.
"Erik’s 30-plus year career covers the breadth of the public port industry," said Srinivas Palanki, dean of the College of Engineering. "His deep understanding of policy and foundational issues are exceptional. Linking this knowledge with his passion for education and training makes him an outstanding fit for executive director of the Center for Advances in Port Management."
"We are very pleased to have an executive director who brings such a breadth of knowledge and skills in the broader port and related maritime industries said Lamar University President Kenneth Evans. "We will leverage LU’s outstanding faculty expertise and draw the very best from globally sourced experts in the field as lecturers and adjunct faculty."
Mr. Stromberg holds a master’s degree from the Institute for Marine Studies at the University of Washington, where he became the first student in the program with an emphasis on port authorities. Upon graduation he was selected as one of 10 national Sea Grant Fellows working on federal policy issues in a staff capacity for the U.S. House of Representatives.
"The Center’s practitioner-focused program, accessed through the university’s leading edge, on-line, remote learning capabilities, enables Lamar to provide a unique education experience. We expect that a large number of students will come from port and related industries seeking a career-enhancing educational opportunity. The Center’s Master’s program will fit the needs of all our students, from those on a traditional college track to our census of mid-career port professionals," Mr. Stromberg said.
The Center for Advances in Port Management has a research mission to study and improve ports in Texas and around the world. Illustrative research topic areas include: Economic Impact Studies and Long Range Planning; Capital Projects and Project Management; Safety, Security, and Risk Management; Port Marketing and Business Development; Port Management; Cyber Security; Logistics Modeling; Labor and Environmental Regulations; and Scheduling and Simulation.
"We’re preparing the next generation of port managers," Mr. Stromberg said. "It’s an incredible opportunity for me and for our industry."
Erik Stromberg
Photo/Lamar University
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