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Embry-Riddle Plans Women in Aviation Day Program

Peggy Chabrian Daytona Beach, Fla., March 9, 2004 -- More than 400 female middle-school and high-school students from Volusia County will learn about aviation and aerospace at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University during the annual Women in Aviation Day program to be held Wednesday, March 24.

The girls, along with school counselors, will participate in activities designed to educate and motivate students to pursue careers in aviation and aerospace.

The day of the event, student registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the university's ICI Center, 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Professor Debbie Schaum of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus will give the welcoming address.

Winners of the Women in Aviation/Aerospace Essay Competition will be announced during the welcome. The first-place winner from hundreds of entrants will receive $150 toward Flight Exploration Camp, second place will receive $100 toward Careers in Aviation Camp, and third place will receive $75 toward Careers in Aviation Camp. The camps are operated by Embry-Riddle's Summer Academy.

Dr. Peggy Chabrian, president and founder of Women in Aviation, International (WIA), will be the guest speaker. The organization, which was incorporated in 1994 following the success of the 1990 International Women in Aviation Conference, represents more than 7,000 women and men from all segments of the aviation industry. Chabrian, who is also the publisher of Aviation for Women magazine, holds the distinction of having been the second woman to serve as dean of an engineering school in the United States.

Starting at 9 a.m., students may tour the Embry-Riddle campus and learn about career opportunities in such aviation and aerospace fields as air traffic control, engineering, professional pilot, maintenance, and meteorology. Students will also take part in navigation exercises and airplane, flight, and robotics simulations. Embry-Riddle students and volunteers will conduct the tours and will lead hands-on, make-and-take activities.

Support for the event is provided by Embry-Riddle's Admissions Office.

A long-time aviation enthusiast and professional aviation educator, Chabrian is a commercial/instrument multi-engine pilot and flight instructor who has flown for more than 20 years, logging 2,000 hours.

She has held several top positions in aviation education, including academic dean and associate vice president of Parks College; dean of Academic Support for Embry-Riddle's Prescott, Ariz., campus; director of the Center of Excellence for Aviation/Space Education at Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus; and chair of the aviation department at Georgia State University.

Chabrian has received the FAA Administrator's Award for Excellence in Aviation Education, the Civic Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Vision Award from Business and Commercial Aviation magazine. She was also inducted into the Crown Circle of the National Congress on Aviation and Space Education.

Chabrian is a board member for the Centennial of Flight Advisory Board, the Experimental Aircraft Association Foundation, and the Museum of Aviation.

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 more than 28,000 students annually through the master level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 130 centers in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.