Oregon Institute of Technology’s (Oregon Tech) own engineering faculty member, Dr. Roger Lindgren, has been awarded the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Western District Outstanding Transportation Educator Award. Dr. Lindgren received the award late last month at this year's Western District Annual Meeting, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We are extremely proud of Dr. Lindgren for receiving the Outstanding Transportation Education Award, which recognizes his dedication to students and commitment to teaching and learning,” said Dr. Chris Maples, Oregon Tech President. “Professor Lindgren exemplifies Oregon Tech’s hands-on learning approach so that graduates are prepared to hit the ground running when they begin their careers. He engages students with practical laboratory projects that he specifically designs to connect Oregon Tech students to the local community, such as having them visit local construction projects to further enhance classroom lessons, and attending conferences that give students opportunities to interact and network with transportation professionals.”
The ITE Western District is comprised of 13 states and numerous ITE student chapters. The Institute is an 85-year old international educational and scientific association of transportation professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs worldwide. Recipients of the Western District’s Outstanding Educator Award must demonstrate extraordinary creativity in teaching, take exceptional measures to spark student interest in the transportation profession, provide unwavering encouragement for student endeavors or show unequaled service to the ITE in the past year. In the last 13 years, only one other professor from Oregon has won the award, and awards are only provided in years when there is an outstanding recipient.
“We are extremely proud of Dr. Lindgren for receiving the Outstanding Transportation Education Award, which recognizes his dedication to students and commitment to teaching and learning,” said Dr. Chris Maples, Oregon Tech President. “Professor Lindgren exemplifies Oregon Tech’s hands-on learning approach so that graduates are prepared to hit the ground running when they begin their careers. He engages students with practical laboratory projects that he specifically designs to connect Oregon Tech students to the local community, such as having them visit local construction projects to further enhance classroom lessons, and attending conferences that give students opportunities to interact and network with transportation professionals.”
The ITE Western District is comprised of 13 states and numerous ITE student chapters. The Institute is an 85-year old international educational and scientific association of transportation professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs worldwide. Recipients of the Western District’s Outstanding Educator Award must demonstrate extraordinary creativity in teaching, take exceptional measures to spark student interest in the transportation profession, provide unwavering encouragement for student endeavors or show unequaled service to the ITE in the past year. In the last 13 years, only one other professor from Oregon has won the award, and awards are only provided in years when there is an outstanding recipient.Dr. Lindgren has been a professor at Oregon Tech for 15 years, specializing in the area of Transportation and general engineering courses. In addition to teaching, Dr. Lindgren is also the current program director of the recently-established civil engineering graduate program, and was instrumental in developing the criteria and research project guidelines for the program. He is an executive committee member of the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), and the ITE student chapter advisor. Dr. Lindgren performs research in various ways and works to distribute NITC scholarships to students every year. Prof. Lindgren is a former Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) associate director.
“As students, we are in awe of how much Dr. Lindgren gives of himself to the Civil Engineering Department at Oregon Tech purely for our benefit,” said Miranda Barrus, a first year Master’s degree student in Civil Engineering at Oregon Tech. “I say without hesitation that his teaching style is notable. He has perfected his ability to foster an environment conducive for learning for his students while simultaneously maintaining a level of professionalism in his classroom. He is skilled at engaging with his students and drawing them into lecture, and cultivating discussion-based lessons with them. He does not allow his students to become apathetic, but instead, he challenges them during every lecture. As students we’re really pleased that Dr. Lindgren has been recognized for helping so many Oregon Tech students be successful in college and once they start their careers.”
