Tech And Averitt Express Team Up To Offer New Minor In Logistics

Tennessee Tech and Averitt Express are collaborating on a new minor in logistics and supply chain management.

The minor program will be part of the College of Business. The program will come with an internship and part-time employment opportunities with Averitt Express. Dean of the College of Business Tom Payne said the program will help students better understand issues, such as supply chain challenges.

“We have this great international company right in our own backyard that can provide us with the support, the information, and partnership we need to really make a world class program,” Payne said.

Classes for this minor will be held in the newly renovated Johnson Hall. Mick Williams has been hired as a new full-time faculty member to help launch the new program. Payne said Williams meshes well with the partnership with Averitt Express and knows exactly what students need to place them in the workforce.

“He has a bachelors in engineering and a master in business administration,” Payne said. “Basically bringing those engineering skills and business skills to the table, and with his experience as a supply chain manager himself in his professional life outside of academia. He just leverages that in the classroom. He brings decades of experience and an educational background that fits very well within the supply chain management area.”

Payne said Tech’s partnership with Averitt Express goes back many decades. pre-dating most of the staff at Tech and at Averitt Express. Payne said the relationship is mutually beneficial with Tech providing the company with employees and Averitt Express supporting a variety of programs on campus.

“There’s a reason supply chain logistics careers are so wide-spread right now,” Payne said. “There’s such high demand for people in that field, because if you think about it touches every part of our lives.”