2009 PRESIDENTIAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM JUNE 8, 2009 through AUGUST 21, 2009 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 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 also the long-term success of the CTA. We welcome top graduate students from across the county to join the hardworking and dedicated men and women of the CTA in a Presidential Fellowship Program for the summer of 2009. Sincerely, Ron Huberman President ABOUT THE PROGRAM... The CTA is the second largest public transit agency in the United States and provides about 1.7 million passenger trips a day. 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 at 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 develop programmatic and strategic planning initiatives; and - Attend Transit Board meetings, performance management sessions, community events and public meetings. 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 can participate in projects related to strategic planning, infrastructure maintenance and development, performance management, and budget and finance. Through the Summer 2009 Presidential Fellowship Program, fellows will work on a project to complete over the summer. Past projects include: - Developing and implementing specific green initiatives such as adding bus anti-idling technology to CTA buses; - Designing innovative solutions to improve the quality and quantity of the transit experience, by developing scheduling techniques to support service reliability; - Improving the efficiency of programmatic areas through performance management tracking and analysis; and - Collaborating with other local government agencies to seek comprehensive solutions such as the need to work on transit oriented development in Chicago. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA The Chicago Transit Authority encourages graduate students from all academic disciplines to apply. While there are no requirements for specific graduate fields, 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. 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 service. SELECTION PROCESS Candidates are selected on a nationwide basis from public and private colleges and universities. Candidates must be current graduate students with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applications are screened for eligibility and qualifications. Applicants are selected for interviews (either in-person or via telephone) and, based on the results of the interview process, a final selection of fellows is made. Fellows are not classified as full-time employees. Residency in the CTA service area (includes several proximal Chicago suburbs such as Oak Park and Evanston) is required prior to beginning the fellowship program. Relocation is at the applicant’s expense. Fellows are paid an hourly rate of $20; fellows work an eight hour work day and a 40 hour work week. IMPORTANT DATES Complete applications must be postmarked no later than February 13, 2009. - Potential fellows should expect to receive notice for interviews by the end of February. - Fellow positions will be offered by mid to late March. - The Fellowship will run from Monday, June 8 through Friday, August 21, 2009. Application materials include: most recent official transcript, one (1) letter of reference, two (2) written responses, and completed form with biographical data. Applicants may indicate on the application whether they would like to also be considered for the traditional CTA Internship Program. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CTA 2009 Fellowship Program 567 W. Lake Street, 3rd Floor Chicago, Illinois 60661-1498 (312) 681-2225 transitchicago.com