Papke-Shields Receives Governor Citation

SALISBURY, MD--Dr. Karen Papke-Shields of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury State University recently accepted a Governor Citation Award from the Somerset County Department of Social Services for her role in designing a vanpool transportation program for the county s welfare-to-work program. Designated STRideS (Somerset Temporary Ride Service), the new program helps welfare recipients, most of whom do not own cars, to achieve self-sufficiency by providing reliable transportation to education, training and job opportunities.

Papke-Shields, a professor in the Information and Decision Sciences Department, served as faculty advisor to the student team that developed STRideS initial operations and marketing plan last spring. The team of SSU and University of Maryland Eastern Shore students carried out the project for credit as part of the Perdue School s Collaborative Applied Business Learning Experience (CABLE) program, a joint initiative with UMES. In the CABLE program, students under faculty guidance learn by doing by performing hands-on consulting work for regional businesses, nonprofits and government agencies. The Perdue School s Project Management Group, a community outreach and consulting organization, managed last year s CABLE program. SSU s involvement with the Somerset County Department of Social Services has not ended. The Project Management Group continues to provide assistance with the implementation of the STRideS plan developed by Papke-Shields team.