Arkansas State University - Newport

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ASUN Lobby
News
January 2015

Maverick Transportation Partnership Begins

NEWPORT (Ark.) 1/20/2015 – Arkansas State University-Newport and Maverick Transportation will begin a training partnership Thursday that will produce as many as 96 drivers yearly for the North Little Rock-based trucking company.

The partnership joins one of the state’s top commercial driver training centers with one of the state’s leaders in the transportation industry.  When training begins Thursday, eight Maverick-supplied students will study at ASUN’s state-of-the-art facility in Newport.   Upon completion of the four-week course, students will receive a Certificate of Proficiency in Commercial Driver Training, and take the state’s Class A Commercial Driver’s License test.  ASU-Newport boasts a 97 percent pass rate for its students taking the state exam.

As one of the state’s top commercial driver training facilities, ASU-Newport will provide students with classroom training, on-the-road options and hands-on-exposure to the college’s simulators.  The simulators are designed to provide numerous types of hazardous situations that drivers will encounter on the road, including weather, traffic and accident scenarios.

Robert Summers, Dean for Applied Science at ASU-Newport, stressed the significance of ASUN’s partnerships.  “Every partnership opportunity not only strengthens existing programs, but paves the path for overall improvement in every area of our institution.  I am thrilled with the relationship we are fostering with Maverick Trucking and anticipate great future endeavors.”

The partnership follows Maverick’s recent announcement that the company will provide pay increases for all divisions of its drivers.  Students who begin with Maverick holding a new Class A CDL with less than six months of driving experience can now expect to earn over $53,000 in their first year.  Founded in 1980, Maverick operates over 1,400 units.  The company provides over-the-road and dedicated service to the flatbed, glass and temperature controlled transportation markets throughout North America.

Arkansas State University-Newport announced a record enrollment of 2,494 students in the Fall 2014 semester, and in December the Chronicle of Higher Education listed ASU-Newport as the sixteenth-fastest growing community college in the nation.  Classes in the Commercial Driver Training program begin every four weeks and are currently forming.  For more information about training for a career as a commercial truck driver, call 870-512-7800 or log on to www.asun.edu.

Arkansas State University-Newport is a degree-granting community college with campus locations in Newport, Jonesboro and Marked Tree, Arkansas and is part of the Arkansas State University System.  For more information about happenings at ASU-Newport, visit us on our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ASUNewport, where you will find news and photos highlighting achievements and events at all three campuses.  Follow us on Twitter at @ASUNewport for quick information about what is going on at ASUN.