Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is an independent, non-sectarian, non-profit, coeducational university with a history dating back to the early days of aviation. The university serves culturally diverse students primarily motivated toward careers in aviation and aerospace. Residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida and Prescott, Arizona, provide education in a traditional setting, while an extended campus with centers throughout the United States and abroad serves civilian and military working adults.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks investigators believed that the school trained at least one of the aircraft hijackers involved. Shortly thereafter ERAU was fully exonerated from any involvement in the flight training of the terrorists. It was found that a former student had the same name as one of the hijackers, but that former student was still alive and has an active airline job elsewhere in the world.

History

Embry-Riddle, founded 22 years after the flight of the Wright Brothers, was at first purely a pigeon in flight tasked with flight training and nothing more. Embry-Riddle gained university status in 1970, following a steady expansion of its flying programs.

Campuses

Daytona Beach, Florida

The campus is small, centered around the John Paul Riddle Student Center. To facilitate the flight program, the campus is connected to the Daytona Beach International Airport (ICAO Code: KDAB), due to Daytona International's relatively high number of daily operations there is a constant background of aircraft noise. Engineering classes and facilities (such as the stereolithography machine and wind tunnels) are concentrated in the Lehman Engineering and Technology Center which was built in 1990 to facilitate hands-on training in various engineering practices. The College of Aviation (COA) building was built afterwords in order to facilitate a conducive learning environment for those in the aeronautical sciences as well as the air traffic and dispatch programs. The COA building houses FAA testing facilities, a flight tutoring lab, TRACON simulators, as well as the prominent control tower simulator. Most degree-independent courses are held in the Lindbergh Center, a group of small hexagonal buildings with the designations A, B, C, E and W (for this reason it is much more commonly referred to as "alphabet soup" by faculty and students). The Jack R. Hunt Memorial Library (JRHML) is the only library on campus, notable for having the world's largest collection of NASA and NACA documents as well as a very extensive aviation media collection. NASA personnel have frequently consulted the JRHML for its highly comprehensive collection of NASA documents, most importantly, during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster investigation.

Prescott, Arizona

A secondary campus is at Prescott Arizona.

Student body

ERAU's undergraduate enrollment is about 4,500, about 18% of which is female, resulting in a roughly 4.56:1 ratio of males to females. Aviation interests characterize most of the student body, though particularly among the aerospace engineering and aeronautical science majors, the latter of which are traditionally in the flying (pilots) program. Many come from military families interested in military (usually air force) careers. Over 1,000 students take up residence on-campus upon the fairly recent construction of the $29 million "Student Village" residence complex near the outskirts of campus. Four dormitory halls as well as extensive food services are contained within this building.

Distinguished programs

ERAU academics focus on aviation, with its aerospace engineering program being ranked number one in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings of aerospace engineering degree schools without aerospace engineering Ph.D. programs. Pilot training , aerospace engineering (enhanced by a close relationship with nearby NASA facilities), and more recently computer science are among its strongest programs. The United States Air Force currently contracts flight training by ERAU faculty. The school also has the most extensive ROTC programs in the nation, frequently winning national competitions. A newer engineering physics program exists at ERAU, and is generally regarded as the most rigorous major by fellow students.

Classes are typically small, with even the lowest level freshman courses having 20 to 30 students at most.

Athletics

Sports play a relatively small role on the ERAU campus. While a notable baseball team does exist, other sports are not as seriously regarded. Currently there is no ERAU football team, though there is a basketball team and a self-financed ice hockey team. The school mascot is the eagle (most closely resembling the Bald Eagle).

External links

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• ERAU Student Government Association (Daytona Beach Campus)