Three New Trustees Join Embry-Riddle

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Brian Barents led the development of three major general aviation companies. Most recently, he was the president, chief executive officer, and managing partner of Galaxy Aerospace Corp., which was acquired by Gulfstream Aerospace in 2000. Previously, Barents was president and chief executive officer of Learjet Inc., which he took to new heights of profitability. In 1990, he negotiated Learjet's sale to Bombardier Inc. and remained Learjet's chief executive officer until 1996. In earlier experience, Barents was a senior vice president for Cessna Aircraft Co. and a senior executive with Toyota Motor Corp.

Barents accumulated more than 4,000 hours of flight time in various jet fighters during his 34-year military career. In his last assignment he was adjutant general in the Kansas Air National Guard. Barents remains an active pilot in the civilian community and is the past chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Western Michigan University.

Karen Holbrook has been the president of The Ohio State University since October 2002. Previously, she was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Georgia, where she also worked as a professor of cell biology. At the same time, she was an adjunct professor of anatomy and cell biology and medicine (dermatology) for Medical College of Georgia.

Earlier, at the University of Florida, Holbrook was the vice president for research and dean of the graduate school as well as a professor of anatomy and cell biology and medicine (dermatology). At the University of Washington School of Medicine, she was a professor of biological structure and medicine (dermatology) and associate dean for scientific affairs.

Holbrook earned a B.S. and M.S. in zoology at the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in biological structure at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald Shepperd is president of the Shepperd Group, a consulting firm on defense, executive leadership, information technology, and strategic planning. He provides military analysis on CNN and radio commentary for ABC Radio in New York and was an ad hoc member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. He is an author and frequent guest on the speaker's circuit.

In 1998 Shepperd retired from the Pentagon, where he oversaw a $4.2 billion yearly budget as Air National Guard director and commanded more than 110,000 personnel nationwide. He was the architect of Cyberguard, a high-tech program that has modernized the training of Air National Guard units.

A U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, Shepperd flew 247 fighter combat missions in Southeast Asia. He holds an M.S. in personnel management from Troy State University and attended the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base. He was the first Air National Guard research fellow at the Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education and wrote a book on fighter aircrew training in the National Guard.

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. Embry-Riddle educates 24,000 students annually through the master's level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 150 teaching sites in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.