By Carla O’Day
A new bachelor’s degree program in applied logistics management was lauded Thursday at Truckee Meadows Community College’s Meadowood Center as one that will result in a partnership among industry, academia, and the community.
A ceremony was held at the Frank N. Bender Center for Applied Logistics Management, located on the building’s third level. The program began in 2015 as an associates and certification program but recently expanded to include a bachelor’s option, making it the only one of its kind currently in the state, TMCC officials said.
The late Frank Bender left a $600,000 endowment for such program. A World War II veteran, Bender started Bender Moving and Warehouse in 1945. He died in 2009 at age 89.
Gift facilitator Chris Bender said his father valued formal education. The new program is here for students and the community, and he said businesses helped shape the curriculum.
“It will not only benefit students, but our state and region as well,” Chris Bender said.
Center director Brian Addington said 40 students were enrolled two years prior and 138 students are taking courses this semester. The desire for a promotion at work is likely what’s driving enrollment, he said. Evening classes are offered in-person at the Meadowood Center campus and online.
“There is a big need for logistics and supervisors in the area,” Addington said.
Northern Nevada is a logistics hub with lots of distributors in the area because of its proximity to 12 western states, said Nancy McCormick, Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada vice president of business retention, expansion and workforce. Also, she said additional businesses are eyeing the region.
Nevada Board of Regents Chairman Rick Trachok noted logistics is a growing field and jobs expanded locally by 46 percent between 2010 and 2015, with wages increasing almost 50 percent during that time frame. Additionally, logistics jobs are expected to grow 22 percent nationally the next five years.
Examples of jobs in the field include analyst, consultant, customer service manager, international logistics manager, inventory control manager, logistics manager, materials manager, production manager, and purchasing manager.
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