Paul J. Larrousse, former director of the school’s National Transit Institute and a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge about public transit in the United States, passed away unexpectedly in November 2018. Prior to his passing, he bequeathed the Paul J. Larrousse Fellowship in Planning to provide student assistance and support student achievement in transportation planning.
“Paul was a widely respected colleague, teacher, and leader in the transit industry,” said Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah, Distinguished Professor and Dean of the Bloustein School “He was also dedicated to passing along his vast knowledge to his students. I am pleased that the Bloustein School will be able to continue his legacy by providing students interested n the area of transportation policy and planning with financial assistance.”
Fellowships will be awarded to full-time graduate students based on academic merit and may be renewed.
Paul assumed the directorship of the National Transit Institute in July 2000. He was designated as a faculty fellow in 2003 and taught the graduate level “Transit Management and Planning” course each fall as well as a graduate transit planning studio in the spring. The National Transit Institute was established under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to develop, promote, and deliver training and education programs for the public transit industry. It became part of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at the Bloustein School in 1999. NTI is funded by Title 49 U.S.C. Section 5315(d) MAP-21 and Section 5314(c) FAST Act. Its mission is to provide training, education, and clearinghouse services in support of public transportation and quality of life in the United States.
Also having served a three-year term as chair of the Human Resources Board of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), he was an expert on the transit industry outside of the United States as well, taking pride in visiting transit stations throughout the world and sharing his “obligatory transit pictures” with his colleagues and many friends.