SPRING 2009

High-Flyers

Richard Bloom Moderates TRB Meeting on Post 9/11 Security Challenges

Richard Bloom, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus, was the moderator for the 88th annual Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting on Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C. The session’s topic was “Post 9/11 Airport Security Challenges: A Blueprint for Future Safety.” A professor of global security and intelligence studies, Bloom specializes in threat, vulnerability, and risk assessment; personnel security and counterintelligence; covert action; antiterrorism and counterterrorism; and the psychology of information warfare.

Business Club Prevails Again in Arizona Competition

A team of 18 business students from Embry-Riddle’s Prescott campus took home the most awards and the state championship in the 2009 Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership Conference, which attracted nearly 100 participants from Arizona colleges and universities.

The students, members of Embry-Riddle’s Phi Beta Lambda business club, received 39 awards, winning the most awards in the contest for the third year in a row.

The annual competition is sponsored by the Future Business Leaders of America/Phi Beta Lambda, the world’s largest student business organization. At the conference, students competed in team and individual events in the areas of business decision making, finance, management, strategic planning and financial analysis, project management, accounting, and networking.

“Our phenomenal performance this year speaks volumes about our impressive student quality at Embry-Riddle Prescott, as well as the tremendous capabilities of the business faculty on this campus,” said the team’s advisor, Javad Gorjidooz, professor of finance.

The students are now eligible to compete in the 2009 PBL National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, Calif., on June 20-23.

Student Garners Top Civil Patrol Honor

Robert Wilson, a student at the Prescott, Ariz., campus, was honored with the Civil Air Patrol’s General Carl A. Spaatz Award Jan. 5 in the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon. A junior majoring in aerospace engineering, he is a cadet in the organization’s National Capital Wing’s Fairfax Composite Squadron.

The Civil Air Patrol’s highest cadet honor, the Spaatz Award is given to cadets who demonstrate extraordinary leadership, character, fitness and aerospace knowledge. On average, only two cadets in 1,000 earn it.

Wilson first joined the Civil Air Patrol in 2004. He is a member of the university’s Air Force ROTC and the Arnold Air Society. He plans to join the Air Force as a test pilot after graduation.