Chicago Transit Authority CTA’s Presidential Fellowship Program 2008 Letter from the President Dear Prospective Fellows: Working in a transit agency offers an exciting opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to the real world, impacting millions of people every day. Here in Chicago, transit riders, businesses, and even car commuters depend on the smooth functioning of the CTA. Meeting this challenge is a daunting task, but a highly rewarding one as well. The Chicago Transit Authority’s first annual Presidential Fellowship Program offers highly-skilled and motivated students the opportunity to both learn from and contribute to this dynamic, fast-paced public agency. Joining us from a range of academic disciplines, fellows will engage in projects that affect not only daily operations but the long-term success of the CTA. We welcome top graduate students from across the country to join the hardworking and dedicated men and women of the CTA in the inaugural Presidential Fellowship Program for the summer of 2008. Sincerely, Ron Huberman President Program Background The Chicago Transit Authority is committed to providing quality, affordable transit services to the many people that live and work in Chicago’s neighborhoods. CTA operates approximately 2,000 buses that service over 154 routes and 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about 1 million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. CTA’s 1,190 rapid transit cars operate over eight routes and 222 miles of track. CTA trains provide about 600,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations. On an average weekday, 1.6 million rides are taken on the CTA. To achieve its mission and maintain this level of service, the CTA’s dedicated public service professionals relentlessly pursue infrastructure maintenance and development as well as strategic and operational solutions for the second-largest transit agency in the country. The aim of this highly selective, paid fellowship program is to recruit graduate students from across the country to gain skills as public service professionals while learning the complexities inherent to service provision in the public sector. Fellows will participate in projects related to strategic planning, infrastructural maintenance and development, performance management, and budget and finance. Objectives Through the Summer 2008 Presidential Fellowship Program, you may accomplish the following: - Develop green initiatives to keep Chicago’s air clean, while maintaining CTA’s high level of service; - Design innovative solutions to improve the quality and quantity of the transit experience; - Improve the efficiency of programmatic areas through performance management tracking and analysis; - Learn about and present best practices from other transit agencies, both nationally and internationally; and - Collaborate with other local government agencies to seek comprehensive solutions to city needs. Nature Of Program The Chicago Transit Authority’s Presidential Fellowship Program offers fellowship opportunities to students interested in learning about public administration, service provision in the public sector, transit-related engineering and planning, and public policy. The program provides an in-depth view of how a large transit agency operates. Fellows will have the opportunity to: - Work directly with CTA executive staff across all agency departments; - Research, evaluate and recommend best practices to improve the CTA’s services; - Participate in meetings and collaboration sessions with stakeholders; and - Apply academic tools to developing programmatic and strategic planning initiatives. Eligibility Criteria The Chicago Transit Authority encourages graduate students from all academic disciplines to apply. While there are no requirements for specific graduate fields or majors, fellowship opportunities are tailored to students with academic and professional training in fields related to engineering, business administration, economics, public policy and administration, human resources, and finance. In particular, the program seeks candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence, as evidenced by academic honors, leadership ability and activities, extracurricular activities, and involvement in community or public service. Selection Process Candidates are selected on a nationwide basis from public and private colleges and universities. Applications will be screened for eligibility and qualifications. Applicants will be selected for interviews (either in-person or via telephone, depending on the candidate’s residence) and, based on the results of the interview process, a final selection of fellows will be made. Candidates must be current graduate students with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Fellows are not classified as full-time employees. Residency in the CTA service area (this includes several proximal Chicago suburbs such as Oak Park and Evanston) is required prior to beginning in the fellowship program. Relocation is at the applicant’s expense. Fellows are paid at an hourly rate of $20. Important Dates Complete applications must be postmarked no later than March 7, 2008. Fellows should expect to receive notice for interviews within two to three weeks of initial deadline and final notice of offer by mid to late April. The Fellowship will run from Monday, June 16 through Friday, August 22. Application materials will include: (most recent) official transcript, 1 letter of reference, 2 writing responses, and completed form with biographical data. Applicants may indicate on the application whether they would like to be considered for the traditional CTA Internship Program if they are not accepted to join the Fellowship Program. For Further Details or Information Contact: Chicago Transit Authority Presidential Fellowship Program 2008 CTA Department of Human Resources 567 W. Lake Street 3rd Floor Chicago, Illinois 60661 (312) 681-2200