"Generalist" climbed to top job at Portland International Airport, and shows no sign of losing altitude by Bob Mullin Question: How docs a college sludcnI who graduated in geography and urban !>tudies end up the No. 1 man al a major airport in just eight years? Answer: In Ihe words of Roosevelt Carter ('74), who performed Ihe feat when he became manager of the Portland International Airport in 1982, "I just happened to be in the right place (1\ the TIght time." Perhaps Ihe answer is a modest one. Carter. who served the Pori of Portland as a student intern while he attended PSU. worked hard and creatively in his climb to the lOp airport positron. "I'd been successful at a /lumberof other jobs," he concedes under questioning as he sits in his fifth floor office, where a huge picture window overlooks a vast expanse of runway pavement at the airport "I think I had a broad enough background - I never really specialized. I'm a generalist, you know. I want a taste of a lot of things, and I take a more generalist attitude toward my whole career. As a result, I've had a pretly broad view of the whole operation." Carter .1150 thinks aUitude has played a role in his success. He says he has never been bothered by the fact that he is a black man living in a world dominated by a white majority. "There are people who can WOllk out of their house and across tne ~lree\ and get involved in a fistfight." he says. "Then there are other people who can walk out of that same house and across that same street. and people shake their hands and become the greatest of friends." Adds Carter, who .11 age 36 is married and the father of two young children; "Everyixx:.ly doesn't have Ihe same background that I did or go through the same set of circumstances. Most of my life experiences have been positive, so I tend to look at life in a positive fashion. I guess I've been very fortunate in that respect." Carler served four years in the Air Force before he entered PSU in 1970, and found good fortune in both places. At POr1land State. Carter found "an idealized setting" that included "a diversity of sludents and ideas and attitudes" in the classroom. "School was pretty exciting," he remembers. "I was al about the right level of maturity, and I really enjoyed just talking to people. We had all the answers in those days, you know. Just going through that eXJX>rience was really important." After graduation, Carter began his stair·stepping career with the Port of Portland, a career that has had him moving to a new position "every two, two and a hair years." Step 1. In his first full-time position, as Research Assistant for the port, Carter gOI a taste of Ihe airport business from his Lloyd Center office. One of his projects was an origin/destination study to see "who really mes inlo and oul of Portland" - important information if the airport is to make itself attractive to the most passengers possible. "Airlines come and go," says Carter, "but if we have a big enough market area, then we can serve more communities." Step 2. later, as Operations Assistant at Portland International Airport, Carter was exposed to the inner workings of the airporl - and one hazard in particular. "One of Ihe first jobs I worked on wa:, bird control," he Soaring. Roosevelt Carter ('74) "Personally, I don't know anything about piloting an airplane. My real ambition is just being a professional manager and managing a diverse operation such as this." remembers. "You get birds through million·dollar jet engines," says Carter, "and they destroy Ihe things. "There are actual incidents where a 747 look off, struck a redtail hawk and if you have a heavy airplane struggling into the air and you have one of the major components taken oul, then il becomes a major drag on Ihe airplane. "I researched that for awhile. We found the hawks were out there scouting for field mice. So we undertook a program to eradicate the field mice." Step 3. From field mice, Carter went on 10 automobiles, taking on the parking lot and renlal car operations. "You start getting bigger thing5 to do and you start managing more dollars," says Carter of his advancement to Administrator of Programs and Projects. In that capacity, Carter launched a study to determine whether the airport should manage the parking 101 operation itself or farm it out. And if it was to be farmed out, should the airport have a concession agreement with a profit-seeking company or a managemem agreement with a ma"agement company? Carters study recommended the laner, which is what the airport decided to do. "People take the parking lot for granted," says Carter. " In fact. a large part of the revenues that go toward the operation of this place come from the parking lot. You have to be very careful how that revenue is managed. Typically we get money in small amounts. It's very easy to skim off revenue." Step 4. Then it was on to Operations Manager. "That was my first management poSition," says Car1er. " 1 took on the responsibility for the management of the police department, the fire depar1ment and the operations department. "We were kind of the eyes and ears in the on-the-scene, day·to-day functions. II Where to park an airplane, which automobile parking lot to use, and ho..... to funnel passengers in the terminal all might be concerns of the operations department on a given day. " It was probably my most frustrating position because it was a change from dealing with things to dealing with a set number of people," recalls Carter. "Pretty soon you start getting into personnel issues." Step 5. And now he is Manager. "My job now is budgets and people," says Carter. "In the old days, airport managers were typically ex·Worid War II flying Iypes. people who were interested in Oying. Today you're geuing more professional managers as opposed to tcchnically-orienled pilots. "Personally, I don't know anything about piloting an airplane. My real ambition is just being a professional manager and managing a diverse operation such as this." Car1cr notes that as manager he has to remember that the airport's needs are constantly in flux. "People don't realiJe we have a lot of pavement out there," he says. "They take it for granted, but the stuff wears out. How critical is this piece of pavement versus something else, a road we need or landscaping? We have to put these things together, remembering our basic objective as a Iransportation center. "Part of our goal is to marry up airplanes and the airline companies with the flying public. How can you keep that as simple as possible 10 make it aUraclive, to make people feel good about the experience as opposed to feeling harried?" Such a question is not easily answered, but i1's one Carter constantly has on his mind as airport manager. Some of the rewards of airpor1 management are more immediate, however. "One of the most satisfying things about working here." he says, "is going out during the holidays and getting a heart-warming feeling from knowing that you played a small part in helping people get together. It kind of makes it all worthwhile." Next step? About the future. Car1er says, "You see things and you hear things. I gave myself three to (ive yeats in this job. It'll be three years in October and then I will begin a period of assessment to start seeing where I am going from here." 5
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