- Nasser Paydar nominated for ED higher ed post
- DOL, trucking group aim to expand apprenticeships
- West Virginia provides $23M for nursing programs
Nasser Paydar nominated for ED higher ed post
President Joe Biden announced Friday that he plans to nominate Nasser Paydar for the position of assistant secretary for postsecondary education at the U.S. Education Department.
Paydar is chancellor emeritus of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and executive vice president emeritus of Indiana University (IU). He served as an IU faculty member for more than 36 years — joining in 1985 as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering — and has held various administrative and executive leadership positions at the university. He officially retired as chancellor this month, after holding the post since 2015.
Under Paydar’s leadership, IUPUI greatly expanded in downtown Indianapolis, with an emphasis on research, and has grown to include more than 550 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs from IU and Purdue University. During his tenure, the campus has also seen increases in on-campus housing and residential programs.
As a faculty member, Paydar has served as principal and co-principal investigator on research grants from federal and state agencies and private companies. His research in the area of solid mechanics, with applications in biomechanics and electronic packaging, has been published widely in scientific journals.
DOL, trucking group aim to expand apprenticeships
An industry-based safety coalition of freight transportation and logistics companies is joining the Biden administration’s 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge to get more trained drivers for the trucking industry.
The partnership between the Trucking Alliance and U.S. Department of Labor to expand registered apprenticeship will include increasing outreach to underrepresented communities — such as veterans, women, people with disabilities and people of color — and enhancing industry training and safety standards.
“So far, more than 250 organizations have engaged with this initiative, and more than 70 employers have committed to developing and joining existing programs or have already launched new registered apprenticeship programs,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said in a statement.
West Virginia provides $23M for nursing programs
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice last week announced that nearly $23 million in grant funding is going toward 26 nursing education programs at colleges, universities, schools of nursing and career technical education centers across the state.
The awards, which are expected to support up to 600 new nursing students, are part of the West Virginia Nursing Workforce Expansion Program, with a goal of training, retaining and attracting nurses to the state.
