Marine Corps Gen. Frank Petersen to Speak at Embry-Riddle Commencement
Prescott, Ariz., April 23, 1999 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott, Ariz., campus will hold its Spring graduation ceremony for 218 students on Saturday, May 1, at 10 a.m. at the University Athletic Field.
Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen Jr. will be the commencement speaker. Petersen, the first African-American to attain the rank of general in the U.S. Marine Corps, is currently an independent corporate consultant with more than 40 years of aviation experience. He specializes in aviation safety, management, fleet acquisition, and operational analysis.
Most recently, Petersen served as vice president of corporate aviation for DuPont DeNemours Inc., where he was responsible for pilot training and for the leadership of DuPont's corporate flight programs worldwide. He also served on the committee of DuPont Aerospace Enterprises and advised the company on business relationships.
Petersen spent 38 years in the Marine Corps, retiring in 1988 as commanding general of the Marine Development Education Command in Quantico, Va., where he was responsible for the Principal Advanced Training Command. At retirement, Petersen was the senior active-duty aviator in the armed forces, with more than 4,000 hours in various fighter/attack aircraft. He held the senior-aviator designations of Silver Hawk in the Marines and Grey Eagle in the Navy. He served combat tours in Korea in 1953 and Vietnam in 1968, flying more than 300 combat missions in his military career.
At the age of 20, Petersen was the first African-American to be named a naval aviator in the Marine Corps. He was also the first African-American to command a fighter squadron, a fighter air group, an air wing, and a major base.
Petersen currently serves as the chairman-elect of the board of directors of the National Marrow Donor Program and as a board member of the Educational Credit Management Corporation.
Petersen holds bachelor's and master's degrees from George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the National War College.
Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Degree programs through the master's level are offered at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 100 teaching sites in the U.S. and Europe, and through independent study and distance education.
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