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.