Embry-Riddle creates aviation institute at high school, open to all students

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has established a one-of-a-kind Aviation Institute in partnership with Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. The institute, located at the high school, will be open to students from all high schools in the school district starting this fall.

At the Aviation Institute, instructors from Embry-Riddle will teach several of the same courses that are offered at the university’s campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz.

The new institute will offer three tracks that lead to degree programs at Embry-Riddle.

• Aviation -- offers courses in air traffic management and applied meteorology; two degree programs at the university.
• Aviation maintenance technology -- covers the general portion of the university’s degree program in aeronautical systems maintenance.
• Flight -- offers courses from the university’s aeronautical science degree program, for students who plan to become professional pilots. Flying lessons for this track will be available at FAA-approved schools in the area and at Embry-Riddle during the summer.

Students who take courses at the Aviation Institute can earn up to 27 credits that are directly transferable to Embry-Riddle. Some who enroll at the university could start out as second-year students.

The Okaloosa School District is constructing a 2,500-square-foot maintenance training facility and renovating other buildings to house the institute. “We’ve established a school within a school, a distinctive Embry-Riddle campus at Choctawhatchee High School,” said Rob Owen, professor and chairman of aeronautical science at the university.

Dr. Owen expects that 100 students will show up when the institute opens this fall and up to 250 students will be enrolled eventually, with 120 completing the program each year.

The director of the new Aviation Institute is Leo Murphy, who flew jet planes in the U.S. Navy for 30 years and wrote a book on the history of aviation. Before retiring in June, he was commander of the Navy’s Aviation Training School in Pensacola, Fla.

“This is a rare opportunity to expose young people to aviation,” Murphy says. “These are college-level courses, and we will have college-level standards. I think the students will rise to meet those standards.” He says the institute has already attracted strong support from residents of the area, which is home to four military air bases – Eglin, Hurlburt, Pensacola, and Whiting Field.

The aviation program is open to selected high school juniors and seniors who have a GPA of at least 2.5 and are recommended by a teacher.

FMI: www.erau.edu, www.okaloosa.k12.fl.us/choctaw/