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Education
Eagan aeronautical school's roots
by Laura Adelmann
Staff Writer
From the trenches of World.
War I rose an unusual school
that has recently landed in
Eagan.
Eight years after the war's
end, barnstormers John Paul
Riddle and T. Higbee Embry
formed an air -mail delivery ser-
vice in Ohio. Their business
grew, and by the spring of 1926,
they were training new pilots to
help deliver mail, an effort that
did not go unnoticed by the fed-
eral government.
As war clouds were forming,
leading to what would become
World War II, the U.S. govern-
ment turned to private contrac-
tors to provide basic training to
future military pilots.
Business for Embry and
Riddle prospered during the
war and afterwards, the
founders decided to continue its
mission of training pilots.
However, during the depres-
sion, the school suffered. Yet,
because of the founders' will-
ingness to adapt to change, it
Embry -Riddle Aeronautical University Center Director
Richard Brueckner stands near a book case filled with
information on aeronautics. Photo by Laura Adelmann
endured to eventually become
world-wide.
Seventy years later, Embry -
Riddle Aeronautical University
is again changing with the
times, focusing curriculum on
working adults seeking to fur-
ther their education.
The Eagan school, located
on Corporate Center Curve
south of 494, is an extension of
school's main campus in
Florida.
Among their degree offer-
ings are management, market-
ing and technology, all related
to the aviation industry. They
also offer a masters degree pro-
gram, which allows specializa-
tion in a variety of areas, such
as safety, human services and
operations.
The school's most• popular
program is its professional
are from World War 1
aeronautics degree, because it
allows up to 36 hours of credit.
for aviation -related work expe-
rience toward the 120-hour
degree.
"So a person can come in
here with a good portion of his
air degree completed based on
experience," • explained
Aeronautical University Center
Director Richard Brueckner.
However, the school is find-
ing new ways reach out to non-
traditional students.
Entering its second year in
operation locally, the university
was deemed a fitting test site
for a new program that offers
opportunities to a whole new
group of people — those with-
out any aeronautical experi-
ence.
The new program is titled
aviation management, and is
essentially a business degree,
but with an aviation applica-
tion. Brueckner said this is the
school's first degree available
to novices.
"This is designed for the stu-
dent coming out of a two-year
school with an associate degree
or 60 semester hours,"
Brueckner explained, but
emphasized it could be for any-
one.
"We've had people out of
culinary arts interested in com-
ing in because they want to
work for the airline industry,"
he said. "This really allows
many people who'd be exclud-
ed ... to get a bachelor's degree
from Embry -Riddle."
In an effort. to serve an adult
market, perspective students
can take classes at night and
register over the phone with a
credit card. The school also
offers distance learning
options.
Brueckner said the schools
aims to open opportunities and
help people expand their hori-
zons.
"Many of our students are
members of a mechanic's union
and they want to ... be able to
advance within the union struc-
ture and within the company
work areas. That's why they're
here," Brueckner said.