RALEIGH – The following are highlights from this week at the N.C. Department of Transportation. The stories below are also featured in
NCDOT Now, the department's weekly newscast.
NCDOT Honors and Celebrates Black History Month
Many Black American leaders have contributed to transportation, from Garrett Morgan, the inventor of the modern traffic light, to Former U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Civil Rights Director Carmen E. Turner, the first African American woman to lead a major transit agency.
NCDOT also celebrates the late
Andrea Harris, a trailblazer, civil rights leader and fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion, public policy, and economic development - particularly for small and minority-owned businesses, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the citizens of North Carolina. Most recently, Harris served on the NCDOT Office of Civil Rights Advisory Council, OCR Strategic Planning Team, Hurricane Florence partner meeting advisory committee, and was a member of the HBCU Outreach Advisory Committee. Her guiding principles and vision persist today throughout the department and is embedded in our culture, policy decisions and activities.
The department is also shining the spotlight on current NCDOT rising stars, who are contributing significantly to North Carolinas' diverse transportation network and ensuring a bright future for our residents. For details on these employees and their achievements, go to
NCDOT’s social media and
YouTube pages.
We congratulate the graduates of the
North Carolina HBCU and Minority-Serving Institutions Fellows Program. This program offers workplace experience and learning opportunities at NCDOT to recent graduates. HBCU Fellows serve a two-year commitment in an NCDOT unit where they gain knowledge and experience to prepare them for permanent employment. Of NCDOT’s first HBCU Fellows, 75% have already graduated and found permanent employment with NCDOT and other organizations. Applications are now open for interested students to apply until Feb. 26.
Finally, did you know
NCDOT’s OCR offers training, grants and certifications for minority-owned businesses? In the past year, OCR has hosted four disadvantaged business enterprise roundtable discussions, certified 124 new DBEs, and recertified 627 DBEs. If you own a business with transportation-related services, come work with us.