Secretary and Salary: Pete Buttigieg $221,400
Fiscal year 2022 Budget Request: $88 Billion
Staffing: Almost 55,000 employees
Mission: To ensure America has the safest, most efficient and modern transportation system in the world, which boosts our economic productivity and global competitiveness and enhances the quality of life in communities both rural and urban.
Creation: October 15, 1966
Historical Facts:
April 1, 1967 - first operational day of the Department of Transportation
Alan Boyd was the first Secretary of Transportation
1970 - Highway Safety Act passed
1999 - Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act passed
Leadership:
Secretary - Pete Buttigieg
Deputy Secretary - Polly Trottenberg
Chief of Staff - Laura Schiller
Secretary Buttigieg comments:
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
Sydney Carton is intelligent, capable, compassionate, self-destructive, and deeply dissatisfied with his life.
His potential is evident, but his accomplishments are limited. His habits are troubling, but his character contains admirable qualities. His reputation is unfavorable, but Lucie recognizes something in him that others have overlooked.
Perhaps the greatest mistake we can make when judging another person is to assume that who they are today represents everything they are capable of becoming. Yet there is an equally dangerous mistake: assuming that possessing the potential for greatness is equivalent to achieving it. Potential without action remains unrealized. Character without conviction may fail when tested. Reputation without substance is little more than appearance.
The challenge is not simply to possess admirable qualities or to be regarded favorably by others. It is to develop the discipline, courage, and integrity necessary to become the person we are capable of being. When ...
