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John Schroer
Transportation
John Schroer was appointed Commissioner of Transportation by Governor Bill Haslam in January 2011. He is the 29th commissioner of the state agency that oversees a statewide transportation system including highways, rail, airports, waterways and transit.
During his tenure, Commissioner Schroer has made safety a priority, creating new programs and initiatives like Quick Clearance, Protect the Queue and the nation’s first Traffic Incident Management Training Facility. The effort to drive down fatalities and make roads safer has gained TDOT national recognition including Federal Highways 2017 National Roadway Safety Award.
A former school board member, Commissioner Schroer has continued his commitment to education by implementing TDOT Reconnect, offering support services like transcript review, program and financial aid advisement for employees who want to go back to school and the creation of a TDOT specific certificate, in partnership with the Board of Regents and Tennessee College of Applied Technology. The Commissioner says his proudest accomplishment to date has been supporting 173 TDOT employees who went back to school to get their GEDs.
Commissioner Schroer has worked diligently to strengthen TDOT’s partnerships with communities. During his first four years, he achieved his goal of visiting all 95 counties in Tennessee and every summer since has boarded a bus to embark on his annual Project Tours across the state.
Under Commissioner Schroer, TDOT has remained debt-free and has saved taxpayers more than $610 million dollars by reexamining and reducing the scope of projects from wants to needs. In 2017, Commissioner Schroer worked with Governor Bill Haslam to develop and pass the IMPROVE Act to provide increased funding for transportation for the first time in 30 years. The legislation will fund 962 road and bridge projects across all 95 counties and will provide an additional $105 million annually for cities and counties to support local infrastructure needs.
On the national level, Commissioner Schroer serves as the 2017/2018 President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), an organization composed of peers from all DOTs across the nation. In this leadership role, he will continue to focus on sustainable transportation funding solutions and ensuring states are prepared for emerging transportation technology.
Previous to his state service, Commissioner Schroer served as the Mayor of Franklin, Tennessee. His public service experience also includes being a board member of the Franklin Special School District and the Tennessee School Board Association.
Commissioner Schroer received a bachelor's degree in business from Indiana University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee. He spent ten years in the commercial real estate financing business before beginning a real estate development business in Franklin. Commissioner Schroer and his wife, Marianne, have three children and one grandson and are members of Franklin First United Methodist Church.