Brenda Lantz recently was named associate director of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.

Lantz, with more than 20 years of experience on the institute’s research staff, will help lead research, education and outreach activities. She will help manage and promote the institute while working to improve coordination among the institute’s centers and encouraging greater synergy among staff.

Lantz joined the institute as a graduate research assistant in 1990. She is an associate research fellow and program director of the institute’s Transportation Safety Systems Center in Lakewood, Colo. Her research focuses on intelligent transportation systems for commercial vehicle operations, business logistics and commercial vehicle safety.

Lantz earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in applied statistics from NDSU. She also earned a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University in business administration, specializing in supply chain and information systems.

The previous associate director, Denver Tolliver, was named the institute’s director in March.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.