ACT Council Spotlight Mini-Series: Higher Education Council

Between the Lines presents ACT Council Spotlight Mini-Series: Higher Education Council

with Josh Galasso

--

What is the Higher Education Council?

‍

On this week's episode of Between the Lines, we chat with Josh Galasso. Josh currently serves as the Transportation Demand Manager for Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La where he oversees the communication, research, analysis, planning and development of transportation programs and services for the university. He also currently serves as the Chair of the Higher Education Council for (ACT) Association of Commuter Transportation.

‍‍‍

And check out our exclusive commuter playlists on Spotify!

‍

--

‍

Episode Transcript

‍

[Voice-over]
Commutifi presents Between the Lines with Andy Keeton. Each week we explore the challenging issues Transportation Demand Management professionals face on their journey to transition commuters from driving alone to more sustainable, shared and active commuting habits. Be sure to subscribe to hear next week's episode and check out our exclusive commuter playlist on Spotify. This is Between the Lines with Andy Keeton.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
Hi everyone, and welcome aboard to Between the Lines. Today were talking with Josh Galassoa. Josh currently serves as the transportation demand manager for Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he oversees the communication, research, analysis, planning and development of transportation programs and services for the university. He also currently serves as the chair of the Higher Education Council for the Association for Commuter Transportation or ACT. And that's really what we're talking about today. Josh, first, thanks for being on.

‍

[Josh Galasso]
I appreciate the opportunity.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
And like I said, we're talking today about the Higher Education Council at ACT, part of our ACT Council Spotlight mini series. We're talking about all of the councils and bringing in the leadership from all the different councils and putting those together. So make sure you check those out, learn a little bit more about what the Association for Commuter Transportation is and how you can get involved and why it's important to join. But today, like I mentioned, we're talking about the Higher Education Council and maybe if we can just start off, Josh, tell me, what is the Higher Education Council and who is it for?

‍

[Josh Galasso]
Yeah, so Higher Education Council is relatively newer council in terms of the ones that have been part of ACT since association began. It is formed for those that are involved in the higher education area, whether that be, you know, community colleges in a small tiers, tutions pretty much anyone that educates in secondary level, you know, across really the United States and beyond. One of our council leaders is a transportation director in Canada. So it's been all the way up there so it's good to see what's going on, you know, across the US and in North America really. So we're excited about what the future holds. Our goals are really to focus on the ever changing world that is higher education and those issues within transportation that may affect that. We're unique in that we're we're most part of closed campus setting but have all the same issues that a lot of the municipalities face. So we have to face those and address them in same ways that a lot of the municipalities do. So it presents its own set of issues. And this provides us that opportunity to discuss them across the board with others, figure out what they're doing, what they've done well, would they have tried to implement and what is successful on?It's a great opportunity to discuss some of the newest technology. They also have another ACT Council that involved them, but not in a leadership role, which is a newer one. That's the Technology Council. And so we really kind of blend with them, looking to them for some of the newer technology that's out there, ways that it could be implemented on our own university campuses and support some of our TDM programs.So there's a lot, but it's exciting to be a part of that. I've been a part of that since I got involved two years ago and been excited to be a part of it and get involved in this level now. And for me, and those leaders, our goal is to really grow the council and grow those that are a part of that across all the higher education institutions.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
And I know the Higher Education Council has had some new leadership and we're excited as well. I mean, I'm excited to see where the Council goes with you at the helm and the rest of the new team there I think you mentioned an interesting thing, too, which is, you know, universities, colleges, you're kind of like an employer.You're kind of like a city. There's some sort of mix there it's hard to know. So being able to talk to others seems valuable. Can you tell me just a little bit more just, you know, from your your job at LSU or from conversations you're having, why is engaging in TDM or Transportation Demand Management so important at university and college campuses?

‍

[Josh Galasso]
Well, I mean, for sure, one of those issues is, you know, unique to universities that you have individuals that are there on campus and they need ways to get across campus. Some of them may have vehicles, some of them may not. And then you've got those that commute to campus and the issues that present themselves for those that try to come to campus and find a spot within relatively close proximity. And they're trying to avoid the issues that tend to plague campuses where students are wasting gas, driving around in circles, trying to find a parking space and, you know, avoid walking, you know, and trying to boost even the transit programs that support that. And, you know, a lot of cases even support the municipalities that they're based out of. You know, for our example, we we supply service to the city and the city office also allows some of our students to utilize some of their services as well. So it's a joint partnership that, you know, expands even further out to the municipal. So it's it's something that is required. It's a necessity in, you know, number one issue on university campuses. is parking. It's an issue, you know, how do you address them, how do you get them around? And TDM is solving that and creating opportunities to address some of those bigger issues that you're faced with. You know, whether it's, you know, expanding your transit program, whether it's, you know, looking at ride-share programs, whether it's, you know, carpool programs that you could develop and incentivizes students to do those, whether it's biking, you know, any of those programs that are out there, you know, the perfect place is to grow and to develop that and honestly learn is in our higher education institutions. So it really is a good opportunity to grow TDM within the industry and look at trends in its own unique setting.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
You know, like that. I mean, it's can also can be a Petri dish, just like universities are testing, you know, the latest technologies and doing research might as well be doing it in TDM as well. Makes sense. So you mentioned, you know, going back to act in the council. Yeah. You mentioned that one of the things that is really great about it is being able to connect with other universities and other professionals in the same kind of higher education space across North America is would you say that's kind of like the main thing, the main reason someone should get involved in Higher Education Council, or is there other stuff that's going on that is valuable for people to know about?

‍

[Josh Galasso]
Well, it's definitely one of the bigger perks of being a part of ACT in the Higher Education Council because you have a network of professionals that, like I said earlier, are facing the same problems you are. So you can ask them, hey, you know, what are you guys doing to address the problem, such as scooters that are everybody wants on their campus, you know, what are you looking for? From a, you know, a carpool program? What kind of options and programs have you implemented on your own campus to address that? You know, that provides an opportunity for you to discuss those issues with other individuals that may have already implemented or are looking to implement them. And, you know, kind of see what's work, what didn't work. You know, that's obviously one of the biggest things that I personally get you know, out of the council and being a part of that. But it goes even further than that. You know, for example, you know, one of the goals of our current group when we set our work plan was to look at ways that we can create the next round of team professionals within, you know, the natural building block we have. We're a higher education institution. You know, what better place to look for the best future professionals in that industry and to groom them and get them involved in these activities in our own backyard. And so we're looking at trying to figure out ways to bridge that, to create, you know, one grow student participation in ACT, which I know is a goal of the National Council. You know, they discuss that, how do we nurture this profession and looking to higher education institutions to do that. It's just a natural, marriage to where you have a large stock of individuals that are, maybe an engineer, maybe they're, technology based, maybe they're studying sustainability trends. You have so many individuals you can look to educate and get involved in this to create another level of, you know, trained professionals out there. And so that's where ACT in higher education comes in to support, the National Council as a whole. And we're excited to play a role in that.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
And I think that's a great idea. I think a lot of people who find themselves in TDM today didn't know they were going to fall into TDM. It's not like there's a, you know, a bachelor's degree in TDM or something. So, yeah, you're coming from a bunch of different places. I think this is great. I bring people into the into the field when they're young and hungry and looking for something cool to do. Yeah, it's a great field. And this is a cool initiative.

‍

[Josh Galasso]
It is. And for me and my own observation is that TDM to relatively young field. I mean, you've got professionals that have been involved in some capacity in this regard for a long time. But for example, in LSU when we launched our mobility implementation plan is when we saw the need for a team of professional to come in. And so for other places around the world, honestly, they're just now getting that point. And so the profession is really in the infancy stages. And I see huge opportunities within the TDM industry. And what does that look like? I think that's a great discussion point. I've discussed that with some of the team leaders. And I just see what that looks like. How can we nurture that, support it? Because like myself, I got into team because of my backgrounds and skills that kind of led me to that position. But wasn't a pure team centered individual when I first got into it. I know a lot of people are like that. But how can we how can we nurture that moving forward to create another level of professionals in the industry? I guess that's a question that we have to discuss. But it's interesting to see what the trends are within the industry and what the next level of professionals do, what they look like and how that's going to be involved.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a compelling reason as well to join the council and be a part of this and help kind of figure out what that looks like. What is the future team, person or professional look like? I mean, that's pretty interesting. And it gets into my last question as well, which, you know, this is a big piece of it. But where do you see the future of TDM in higher education? Where do you think we're going to be in five years, ten years, 50 years? What is it going to look like.

‍

[Josh Galasso]
That's a tough question.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
I'm asking you about the future but let's see.

‍

[Josh Galasso]
But I do see the the evolution of autonomous vehicles on university campuses. I see for sure looking at it from from my side looking at how can we distort systems to support sustainable activities such as, you know, EV charging stations, whether that be looking at, getting going away from our old diesel busses to going to full electric in ways that support that initiative how can we be better stewards of the environment in ways to to support that not you know, hurt it essentially because that's one of the goals we look at. How can I decrease one single occupancy vehicle usage on my campus? What are some things that we can do right away to look at doing that, to how can we lower the number of vehicles that are just driving around for 20, 30 minutes, which sounds outrageous, but they do it looking for a space, and then, how what other the other programs you can grow from a just a micro mobility standpoint, bike sharing, biking programs on campus, we're not quite at the level where we're putting scooters on our campus yet, but it's going to come. So I definitely see that. I don't know how long that that will be in there. I'm sure the next thing is going to come around and they may be like Michael J. Fox and words, I don't know, but be kind of cool. You know, I do see that that evolving, and how we can we can grow that within our industry, and in Illinois University campuses, I see that as the next wave. The other thing that's exciting to me, which I personally love and that's why I got involved in the Technology Council's whole too is how can I use technology to create a better user experience, create a better customer experience moving forward? How can I impact their drive from wherever they're coming, whether that's somewhere on campus to another place on campus or somewhere out of campus to campus, you know, and even our faculty and staff, how can we create a better solution for them? We're looking at that. One of the things we actually recently did working with one of our university professors to create an application that, finds available parking tells them where they park their vehicle tells them, you know, the probability of finding parking in certain areas. And it uses it's a lot less expensive to utilize that technology. Than it is a lot of the universities, install cameras and that you have to go, install the run the fiber across campus and the infrastructure that goes with that, and there's a lot of competitors out there that do that. Well, this individual on our campus is actually a doctorate in astrophysicist astrophysics and, just loves crunching numbers. And these like this is a number problem that I want to crunch. How can I solve or help parking on this campus? So we met with them and, you know, essentially teamed up with a computer engineering student and created this application. And so we're testing in our university campus. So far, so good and eventually, you know, we may see what what the future holds as far as him, offering it up to other universities to see. But, you know, that's a perfect example of utilizing the, skilled people that you have in your your, you know, campus to impact parking or transportation or you know, today it's, something that we found it awesome. We got some it's just like you would think of in astrophysics, worried about parking, but you definitely didn't came up with the solution. So it's working really well so far.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
That's cool. And I agree. I mean, I think the if you want to understand where the future of today is going, like at the universities and college campuses, because those are the Petri dishes, like we mentioned earlier, that's where the new stuff is going to come. The new innovations are going to be looking going to be you're coming out of research that's happening. There are maybe even an astrophysics Ph.D. here. Yeah, I think it makes a lot of sense. I'm excited to see where it goes. I'm excited to hear about what's going on with the Higher Education Council, and I'm glad to see that that's growing. And it sounds like there's a lot of cool stuff coming down the pipe there. So, you know, thanks again for joining me, Josh, for those of you watching, too, you'll notice Josh is in a hotel room. It's because he's doing his job as a leader. You're in Virginia, right now visiting another campus and helping him set up systems. It's pretty cool. A pretty cool set up you've got there.

‍

[Josh Galasso]
Yeah, we're excited. I don't know. I do want to mention that we mentioned on the last council meeting, for those that are watching, there is a university in Chicago that is not currently an ACT member and so we're going to be hosting them and using it as an opportunity to tour their campus, see the facilities, figure out, you know, what they've been doing what they, would like to do and improve and offer our expertize in that area with a lot of the professionals that are going to be at the international conference in Chicago and hopefully we can recruit them to be an active member. So I would encourage as that information is released, help us recruit them to act, go partake in that little tour of the university and, you know, help us get some newer members to ACT as a whole. So we're excited about that opportunity. I know they're going to be sending some information out as they finalize that. Once they do, I don't know David or someone's going be sending that out, but it'll definitely sit out in the next month or so.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
That's awesome. Yeah. And a good opportunity to explore a new place and getting people to the table and have some more conversations. Josh, thanks for joining me. This is great conversation. I'll see you in Chicago at the international conference for sure. And all of our listeners and viewers today, thanks for joining and make sure to reach out to Josh if you have any questions. If you are from a college university and not a part of the Higher Education Council or even not a part of ACT at all, reach out to me or Josh and you'll be able to learn some more about that and get involved. Josh, thanks for joining us.

‍

[Josh Galasso]
Hey, not a problem. I appreciate it. It was fun.

‍

[Andy Keeton]
All right, everyone, we'll see you next time.

‍

[Voice-over]
Thanks for joining us on this week's episode of Between the Lines with Andy Keeton. Be sure to subscribe to hear next week's episode and check out our exclusive commuter playlist on Spotify.

‍

‍

‍