Roger Koch Creates Edward D. Stimpson Scholarship at Embry-Riddle
Daytona Beach, Fla., Feb. 9, 1999 -- When Roger Koch sold his
aircraft interior components company, Aircraft Modular Products Inc., to B/E Aerospace Inc. for $110 million, he wanted to give something back to the aviation industry, but in a way that would accomplish more than the gift itself.
 Koch has donated $1 million to create the Edward W. Stimpson
Endowed Scholarship Fund at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest university specializing in aviation and aerospace. "I wanted to create a scholarship program at an aerospace university that would honor Ed Stimpson and benefit minority students in a technical area," he says.
"This donation is a demonstration of great personal leadership on
Roger Koch's part," Embry-Riddle President George Ebbs told Koch in accepting the gift. "Scholarships are among the University's highest priorities, because they enable us to compete for the best students, regardless of their financial standing. This gift will give significant momentum to our efforts to increase our scholarship funding."
The scholarship gift, funded through a trust, was announced Dec. 11
as Stimpson received aviation's highest honor, the National Aeronautic Association's Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. Stimpson, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association for more than 25 years, is currently its vice chairman and heads its "Be-A-Pilot" campaign, the largest learn-to-fly program in civil aviation history.
Earlier, Stimpson served at the Federal Aviation Administration,
where he helped lead efforts to create the Department of Transportation. He serves on Embry-Riddle's board of trustees and was its chairman from 1987-1994. He received an honorary doctorate in aviation management from the University in 1974.
The scholarship Koch is funding at Embry-Riddle will attract and
assist qualified African-American students in the areas of engineering and computer science, which are underpopulated by minorities.
Koch's interest in helping minority students stems from his own
background. "Without financial assistance I never would have been able to go to college," he says. "There isn't enough assistance for financially needy minorities in science and technology."
"Most leaders of companies that I know came from technical
backgrounds," says Koch, who began his career as an engineer.
Koch challenges his peers in the aviation industry to match his
gift to Embry-Riddle and help attract more minority students to careers in science and technology.
For information about contributing to the Edward W. Stimpson
Endowed Scholarship Fund, call (386) 226-4928.
Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university
specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry with its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Degree programs through the master's level are offered in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 100 teaching sites in the U.S. and Europe, and through distance learning technology.
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