Embry-Riddle Story

Only a select few universities in the world can safely be called the absolute best at what they do. At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, what we do, and do best, is teach the science, practice, and business of aviation, aerospace, and engineering.

On Dec. 17, 1925, exactly 22 years after the historic flight of the Wright Flyer, barnstormer John Paul Riddle and entrepreneur T. Higbee Embry founded the Embry-Riddle Company at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio. The following spring, the company opened the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation.

Embry-Riddle began with a simple plan to train airplane pilots in a thorough, efficient manner and to cash in on a booming post-World War I interest in flying. Today, Embry-Riddle leads the world in aviation and aerospace higher education.

After a period of decline in the 1930s, Embry-Riddle sprang to life again as World War II erupted in Europe and the demand for aviators and mechanics surged. Allied nations sent more than 25,000 young men to several Embry-Riddle centers in Florida to be trained as pilots and aviation technicians. During the Korean War, the U.S. Air Force contracted with Embry-Riddle to train airmen in the fundamentals of airplane maintenance. Following the war, Embry-Riddle continued providing aviation-related education and training for military personnel.

Under the leadership of John and Isabel McKay, Embry-Riddle expanded its international outreach and strengthened its academic programs. In 1965, with Jack R. Hunt as president, Embry-Riddle consolidated its flight training, ground school, and technical training programs in one location. Financed with dollars and trucks borrowed from civic leaders, the move to Daytona Beach, Fla., proved to be a moment of singular importance. It signaled the rebirth of Embry-Riddle and the start of its odyssey to world-class status.

Within three years of the move, the institution was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, Telephone: 404-679-4501). Two years later, Embry-Riddle gained university stature.

Expansion of the University began under Hunt's direction when the 510-acre site of a former college in Prescott, Ariz., became the western campus of Embry-Riddle in 1978. This proved to be only the beginning of the growth the school would experience.

Continuing Hunt's legacy was Air Force Lt. Gen. Kenneth L. Tallman, who served as president of Embry-Riddle for five years. Under Tallman's leadership, a school of graduate studies was established and an electrical engineering degree program introduced. He led the University into research with the addition of the engineering physics degree. He also developed stronger ties between Embry-Riddle and the aviation/aerospace industry.

Dr. Steven M. Sliwa led the University from 1991 to 1998. Sliwa, the University's third president, is best known for creating an entrepreneurial environment and for developing strategic partnerships with industry. These partnerships included a joint venture with FlightSafety International; a partnership with Cessna that included options to purchase 300 aircraft; a technology alliance with IBM; and an exclusive educational partnership with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He also spearheaded a $100+ million capital expansion program, which included an $11.5 million congressional line-item appropriation. In addition, new academic and research programs were created at his direction to respond to structural changes in the industry while increasing market share in the University's core programs.

Embry-Riddle's fourth president, Dr. George H. Ebbs, led the University from 1998 through 2005. Under his leadership, a new graduate degree program in safety science was introduced, as well as new undergraduate degree programs in computer science, communication, global security and intelligence studies, mechanical engineering, software engineering, and space physics. In addition, major construction began on both residential campuses. Dr. Ebbs also presided over important military contracts.

Embry-Riddle’s fifth president, Dr. John P. Johnson, led the university from 2006 to 2015. His focus was on developing campus facilities, strengthening the financial base, and climbing in national rankings, as well as increasing female enrollment, research activity, and global outreach. The number of academic degree programs expanded significantly under his guidance, including the addition of several Ph.D. programs. In recognition of his legacy of leadership and contributions to Embry-Riddle, Dr. Johnson is now the university’s first president emeritus, continuing to act as a university ambassador and an important link to the community. That work is now carried forward by Dr. P. Barry Butler, who became the sixth president of Embry-Riddle in 2017 after serving as Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Iowa.

In addition to its two traditional residential campuses, Embry-Riddle also has a Worldwide Campus that provides educational opportunities for professionals working in civilian and military aviation and aerospace careers. The Worldwide Campus includes classroom and online learning operations.

In the mid-1970s, Embry-Riddle, by then an accredited university, opened its first four Worldwide teaching centers at military bases and began offering its degree programs to servicemen and women who couldn't take classes at the campus, which had been relocated from Miami to Daytona Beach.

As the university extended its outreach, it positioned most of its teaching centers near military installations with aviation functions. Taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue a degree related to their profession in a nearby location, military personnel enrolled in droves. Of today's more than 125 Worldwide Campus locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the majority are located at or near major aviation industry installations, both military and civilian. Students who don't live near one of the centers can enroll in many of the same programs through online learning.

Shortly after the first Worldwide Campus locations opened, Embry-Riddle added online learning as an option to help on-the-go aviators, sailors, and soldiers earn a degree. Lessons were mailed to students who returned completed work via postal mail. Today, hundreds of Web-based Embry-Riddle classes are in session, attended by students at all hours of the day and night. In addition to associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, Embry-Riddle Worldwide offers many certificate programs via classroom and online learning.

The Worldwide Campus includes the Center for Professional Education (CPE), which provides professional certification experience and training to corporate and professional adult learners. Many programs are offered online, such as the 23-course Corporate Aviation Management Certificate. A variety of seminars and workshops are available and several can be tailored to the needs of industry clients. Embry-Riddle offers nondegree programs at its residential campuses as well, including English language training and aviation safety and security short courses.

Research plays an important role for our faculty and students and for the industries we serve. In the 2015-2016 fiscal year, 200 faculty members were involved in research and other sponsored projects, totaling 190 active awards and 80 new awards. Externally funded grants and contracts for the year totaled more than $21 million.

While pursuing their education, Embry-Riddle students gain valuable experience through participation in cooperative education and internship opportunities. Embry-Riddle has co-op or internship agreements with most of the major airlines; with companies such as B/E Aerospace, Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, and Rockwell Collins; and with governmental agencies such as the FAA, NASA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and Naval Air Systems Command. The relationships established between students and companies often result in full-time jobs for students upon graduation.

The University's alumni, who work in all areas of aviation and aerospace, assist Embry-Riddle's Career Services office by offering their expertise and career opportunities to current students. Alumni participate in recruitment, retention, and mentoring programs, and attend college fairs. The University participates in major trade shows and air shows such as Asian Aerospace; National Business Aviation Association convention; EAA AirVenture (Oshkosh); U.S. Air and Trade Show; Paris Airshow; and Farnborough International Airshow; and also sponsors its own Industry/Career Expos. All of these activities provide networking opportunities for Embry-Riddle alumni in the aviation industry.

Though it began as a school for pilots and aircraft mechanics, the University now offers more than 100 associate’s, baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs and it provides the ideal environment for learning. It combines an impressive faculty with state-of-the-art buildings, laboratories, classrooms, and a diverse student population. Currently, nearly 34,000 students representing all 50 states and 141 nations are enrolled with Embry-Riddle. The Worldwide Campus enrolls nearly 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the Daytona Beach Campus serves more than 6,300, and the Prescott Campus more than 2,600.

As aviation and aerospace continue to evolve, so does Embry-Riddle. In February 2017, Dr. P. Barry Butler became the sixth president of the world’s leading aviation and aerospace university. He swiftly launched a five-year strategic planning and implementation process to continuing advancements related to research and economic development; philanthropy; student experience and success; global strategy; corporate engagement; and enrollment management.