Praised for recruiting more women in the transportation field, Sacramento State will be awarded Employer of the Year by the Sacramento Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar on Dec. 9.

The Women’s Transportation Seminar gives its Employer of the Year Award to an employer who demonstrates exemplary effort to integrate women in their business and also contribute to the transportation industry as a whole.

“We are very excited to award Sac State this award,” said Myriam Frausto, president of the Sacramento chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar. “I look forward to the WTS Sacramento annual awards event.”

The university was nominated for the award in August by Judy Matsui Drury, the Women’s Transportation Seminar Sacramento chapter’s recognition chairwoman. Drury contacted Sac State’s civil engineering department to get more information on its programs.

During the nomination process, Kevan Shafizadeh, chair of the civil engineering department, helped Drury with preparing the nomination form.

The Women’s Transportation Seminar was founded in 1977 during the women’s rights movement to promote development and advancement of women in transportation. The international organization consists of more than 4,000 male and female professionals involved in the transportation field.

Sac State was nominated for proactively initiating a plan to change the travel behavior of their students, faculty and staff, Drury said.

“The university’s students, staff and faculty significantly affect the transportation systems and solutions around the Sacramento region,” Drury said.

Some of the efforts by the university include building more on-campus housing in transit-oriented developments, developing bicycle programs and working with a regional transit agency, the Sacramento Regional Transit District, to provide student passes.

The award is twofold, Shafizadeh said, since it recognizes leaders in transportation as well as employers who recognize women as leaders in the transportation field.

“This award recognizes the university as an employer that makes progressive strides to improve not only in transportation but for people who are using the transportation methods,” Shafizadeh said.

Sac State was also nominated because of its affirmative action record and its continuing support of education for its staff, Drury said.

“CSUS is firmly committed to the active elimination of discrimination and affirmative recruitment of a diverse, multi-racial community of students, faculty and staff,” Drury wrote in the nomination form.

The university’s support and internship opportunities made available to female students also helped Sac State win the award, Drury said.

Some of the criteria for the award include enhancing the transportation industry through its commitment to excellence, supporting continuing education of its employees through professional education and encouraging female students to enter the transportation field by providing internship opportunities.

Sac State is made up of approximately 49 percent female faculty, 60 percent female staff and 6,970 female students.

The level of involvement by the university’s students with Women’s Transportation Seminar is what distinguishes Sac State from other businesses, Drury said.

The university’s civil and transportation engineering undergraduate program requires students to work with industry professionals to gain outside experience in engineering products delivered for transportation projects.

The program also encourages students to network and meet potential employers while working with professionals.

“The CSUS faculty is very integrated with the professional communities that keep the faculty and students in touch with professional practice and the applicability to practical solutions,” Drury said.

The award reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Grand Hotel.