Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University

Florida Senate
-
2026

(NP) SR 1796

By
Senator Wright

8-02179-26 20261796__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing Embry–Riddle Aeronautical
3 University on its 100th anniversary.
4
5 WHEREAS, Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, then known
6 as the Embry-Riddle Flying School, was founded in 1926 by
7 visionaries John Paul Riddle and T. Higbee Embry, and
8 WHEREAS, John Paul Riddle and T. Higbee Embry recognized
9 the importance of aviation and sought to create an institution
10 that focused on future opportunities within the field of
11 aviation, and
12 WHEREAS, the Embry-Riddle Company and the Embry-Riddle
13 Flying School were established at Lunken Field in Cincinnati,
14 Ohio, offering flight training and aircraft sales, and
15 WHEREAS, in 1939, the Embry-Riddle Company was reborn as a
16 seaplane base in Miami, where John Paul Riddle partnered with
17 John McKay and entered into an agreement with the University of
18 Miami to train college students to become pilots under the 1939
19 Civilian Pilot Training Program, and
20 WHEREAS, during World War II, the Embry-Riddle Flying
21 School was renamed the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation, and
22 under the leadership of John McKay, the school trained thousands
23 of pilots and mechanics for the United States Army Air Corps,
24 laying the foundation for the school’s reputation as a leader in
25 aviation education, and
26 WHEREAS, following the death of John McKay in 1951, his
27 wife, Isabel McKay, served as president of the Embry-Riddle
28 School of Aviation until 1962, when she resigned to become the
29 chair of its board of trustees, and
30 WHEREAS, shortly thereafter, United States Navy Commander
31 Jack Hunt became the first president of what had then become the
32 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute and moved the institute from
33 Miami to Daytona Beach in 1965, and
34 WHEREAS, in 1970, the institute was granted university
35 status, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University opened its
36 first remote location in Fort Rucker, Alabama, providing
37 education to military personnel and eventually leading to the
38 establishment of campuses around the world, and
39 WHEREAS, in August 1978, the university opened its Prescott
40 Campus in Prescott, Arizona, with 240 students, and its
41 enrollment has grown to over 3,400 students today and includes
42 the nation’s only College of Business, Security, and
43 Intelligence, and
44 WHEREAS, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s strong
45 global presence was strengthened in 2011 when the university
46 established its first campus in Singapore, positioning the
47 university for success in the growing aviation sector of East
48 Asia, and
49 WHEREAS, today, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University serves
50 more than 32,000 students annually and offers more than 100
51 degree programs at every level of postsecondary education, NOW,
52 THEREFORE,
53
54 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
55
56 That Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is congratulated on
57 the occasion of its 100th anniversary.