PR: NSF awards $344,055 grant to TCC

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a grant of $344,055 to Tacoma Community College to expand its existing Secure Logistics curriculum. The grant will allow TCC to develop continuing education modules for people working in the Secure Logistics field, and to further align coursework with industry-based best practices. The grant period began July 1, 2010 and ends June 30, 2012.

The award will also enable the College to further collaborative efforts with other educational institutions and develop continuing education curriculum in secure logistics and logistics technologies. Program development will focus on industry-based best practices in secure technologies. Industry representatives who participate on TCC’s Secure Logistics advisory committee at TCC, and the Port of Tacoma, have expressed a strong need for more specific training on logistics security at all levels in the logistics workforce, as well as relevant, practical materials based on best practices and industry experiences.

The first NSF Advanced Technological Education grant, awarded in April 2007, funded the creation of the Secure Logistics, Transportation, and Supply Chain Management program at TCC. The second grant will fund course specific materials for continuing education to people already working in the Secure Logistics industry.

Secure Logistics is the technology and practice of securely tracking documents, parcels and products through complex distribution chains throughout the world. As worldwide trade continues to expand, it has become increasing important to move goods in a safe and secure manner that easily identifies each item moving through the supply chain.

Securely moving goods from one place to another is a growing concern for everyone from postal and courier companies to manufacturers shipping their goods by way of reusable pallets, totes, kegs, cages and containers, to end users. Since 2006, TCC has been developing course modules that focus on the use of Auto-ID tools in transportation, distribution, healthcare, libraries and the retail industries.

TCC will partner and collaborate with other institutions with specialized expertise in secure logistics and related fields. TCC will work with faculty from Vance-Granville Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Says Erica Bowles, TCC’s IT/Logistics Program Chair: “With more than $40 billion worth of goods travelling through the ports of Puget Sound each year, the field of Secure Logistics is increasingly vital to our area. We’re excited to partner with the National Science Foundation and other colleges to continue to develop these career programs.”