Funding to Establish New Named Scholarships

One of the APTF programs that directly supports the main mission of the foundation is the Named Scholarship Fund. This process allows a donor to establish a fund that provides an annual scholarship to a student studying a career of specific interest to the named scholarship. Below are the most current named scholarships the foundation is seeking to fully fund for the upcoming year.

The David Turney Scholarship will honor Dave’s years of dedicated service to APTA’s Business Members Board of Governors (BMBG) and his many contributions to the public transit industry. A strong supporter of the business members within APTA, Dave was recognized by the BMBG as an Outstanding Business Member. He also had a lifelong passion for education and personal development and, during his tenure with the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), co-founded the MTI Student Scholarship Endowment.

A noted transportation lobbyist and advocate for transportation, Anja Graves believed in the social good created by a robust and inclusive transit infrastructure. She was especially proud of her work in bringing rail and bus services to smaller municipalities throughout the U.S. and championed the role of women in transportation throughout her career..

 

 

With over 40 years of service to our industry, Paul always sought to have a diverse workforce. Paul was instrumental in leading the charge for full inclusion of the LGBTQ community in both his work at Rutgers and via many leadership positions within APTA. The Paul J. Larrousse Scholarship will continue Paul’s legacy of supporting a more inclusive workforce and will promote awareness and acceptance of the LGBTQ community within the public transportation industry.

The Lou F. Sanders Scholarship recognizes the tremendous contributions that Lou made to the transit industry throughout his career, especially in the areas of passenger rail car safety, rail signaling and train control, fare collection standards, and communications standards. The scholarship will be awarded to students pursuing careers in public transit with majors in science, technology, engineering, and math. 

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Paul Jablonski was a recognized leader within the public transit industry and within the San Diego community where he served as the CEO of San Diego MTS for over 16 years. This Scholarship will honor Paul’s legacy and continue his efforts to support the next generation of transit leaders.

With over 30 years of vision and commitment to the public transportation industry, Joe Alexander made many lasting contributions to public transportation. This Scholarship will honor Joe’s legacy as a tireless advocate and supporter of developing leaders through the Leadership APTA and Emerging Leaders Programs and through the APTF. 

Single-Year Scholarship

The American Public Transportation Foundation (APTF) is pleased to establish a single-year scholarship program under which donors may endow a named scholarship effective for a year. Below are the most current single-year scholarships the foundation is seeking to fully fund for the upcoming year.

In 2023, the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) celebrated the graduation of its ninth class! Our alumni are leaders at over 100 public and private sector transit organizations across the U.S. and Canada. With their graduation at APTA’s Mobility Conference in April 2023, the Class of 2023 marks a program milestone of 250 graduates! Far and away, the greatest benefits that ELP graduates identify revolve around the people they meet during the program year. Donate today to the Emerging Leaders APTF scholarship and provide these benefits to a student interested in pursuing a career in transit. Help jump-start a student’s career, introduce them to APTA and, most importantly, connect them with our amazing and diverse colleagues in the industry.

Academic Partnership

The American Public Transportation Foundation (APTF) seeks the opportunity to collaborate with academic institutions that are committed to identifying, preparing and building a targeted talent pipeline for the next generation of leaders in public transportation. The “Academic Partnership with a Purpose,” Initiative, launched in 2018, has resulted in the first such collaboration between the APTF and an educational institution. Through this partnership, the University of Miami has established the Wulkan Family/American Public Transportation Foundation/University of Miami Graduate School Endowed Scholarship.

Wulkan Family American Public Transportation Foundation Endowed Scholarship was created by Alan C. Wulkan, APTF Board member, in partnership with his alma mater, The University of Miami Graduate School. This scholarship provides a funding opportunity for graduate students at the University of Miami which provides tuition assistance to one master’s or doctoral student interested in a career in the public transportation industry.