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Alumna Astronaut Nicole Stott and USAF Gen. Arthur Lichte Join Embry-Riddle's Board of Trustees
Daytona Beach, FL, and Prescott, AZ, March 26, 2012
Nicole Stott
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Board of Trustees elected two new members at its March 2012 meeting, NASA astronaut Nicole Stott and retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Arthur Lichte.
“We are proud to welcome Nicole Stott and Art Lichte to Embry-Riddle’s Board,” said Dr. John P. Johnson, Embry-Riddle president. “Nicole is one of our most notable graduates, with two space shuttle missions and a three-month mission on the International Space Station to her credit. As an Embry-Riddle alumna she’s been actively involved with the university for years, and we’re delighted that she’s ready to take the next step.
“Art is also a perfect fit for the university. His distinguished 40-year Air Force career dovetails with Embry-Riddle’s longtime commitment to educate our nation’s military, whether they are ROTC students, active-duty personnel or veterans.”
Stott earned a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus in 1987. After joining NASA in 1988 she held various engineering positions at Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center before her selection for astronaut candidate training in 2000.
In 2009 she was a mission specialist on STS-128 Space Shuttle Discovery, transported to the International Space Station (ISS) to serve as a flight engineer for three months on ISS Expeditions 20 and 21. Among her many duties was a six-hour spacewalk.
Stott’s following mission, STS-133 in 2011, made history not only as Discovery’s final flight but also as a landmark event for Embry-Riddle – the first time two of the university’s graduates shared a space mission. Stott and Embry-Riddle alumnus B. Alvin Drew were crewmembers for the 13-day mission, which included two spacewalks by Drew under Stott’s onboard direction. In addition to Stott and Drew, four other Embry-Riddle alumni are current or former astronauts.
The connection between Stott and Embry-Riddle is strong. She is a frequent speaker at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus and a member of the College of Engineering’s Industry Advisory Board. In 2009 she received the Alumni Eagle of Excellence Award. As the guest speaker at the May 2010 commencement ceremony at the Daytona Beach campus, she was presented with the university’s Distinguished Speaker Award.
Before his retirement in 2010, Lichte was commander of Air Mobility Command (AMC) at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Composed of active-duty military, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and civilians, AMC provides rapid, global mobility and sustainment for America’s armed forces, including airlift, aerial refueling, special air mission and aeromedical evacuation. The command also handles humanitarian support at home and around the world.
During his Air Force career, Lichte held command positions at squadron, group and wing levels. As a command pilot he racked up more than 5,000 flying hours in 12 types of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. In addition to his command experience, he also held headquarters-level assignments at Strategic Air Command, Air Mobility Command, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Transportation Command.
Before his assignment as AMC commander, Lichte was assistant vice chief of staff and director of Air Force Staff at U.S. Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In that role he was responsible for Air Staff organization and administration, was deputy chairman of the Air Force Council and was the Air Force accreditation official for the Corps of Air Attaches.
His major awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters and France’s National Order of Merit.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, master's and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.
