At Saturday’s monthly virtual breakfast, EAA Chapter 1114, Apex, North Carolina, hosted guest speaker, Dr. Karrie Dixon, Chancellor of Elizabeth City State University. Dr. Dixon is one of 30 leaders chosen by Elaine Chao, US Department of Transportation Secretary, for the FAA Women in Aviation Advisory Board.
As part of the virtual meeting, Dr. Dixon walked EAA members through the UNC System four-year aviation degree programs as well as her role on the FAA Advisory Board. The ECSU Aviation Science Program is the only four-year aviation science degree program in North Carolina.
“Our aviation growth has been phenomenal,” said Dr. Dixon. “We have a quality program here.” The Chancellor went on to say that aviation has to be their signature program; that no one else in North Carolina is offering what they do. “We give our students the best training they can receive.”
Steele Scott, Chapter President, said he was excited to learn more about the degree programs offered by ECSU and felt fortunate that Dr. Dixon and her team enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to meet with Chapter members virtually. “During this extreme challenge for educators, Dr. Dixon and key University people are taking valuable time from their schedule to present to us,” said Scott. “We saw first-hand during the presentation, the University of North Carolina’s commitment to provide a low-cost four-year degree aviation degree along with the least expensive, high quality flight training in our country.”
Kuldeep Rawat, Thorpe Endowed Professor & Dean, School of Science, Aviation, Health, and Technology, presented as well, providing additional details about the program. “We had a humble beginning,” said Rawat. “We started with two aircraft and now have twelve.”
Along with the training aircraft, the Aviation Science Facilities offers a flight simulator lab, a high-fidelity UAS simulation and training lab, an ATC simulator lab, a NASA Aerospace Education lab and a mobile STEM lab. The school offers a $500/semester tuition and flight training that will range between $30,000 and $35,000.
For complete details about the Elizabeth City campus, visit: ECSU
