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Rep. Mario Goico to Speak at Embry-Riddle Commencement in Wichita

Daytona Beach, Fla., June 14, 2005 -- Kansas District 100 Representative and retired Air Force Col. Mario Goico will be the featured speaker at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University McConnell Center’s graduation ceremony Saturday, June 18. The ceremony for 18 students will be held at the Pecan/Maple Room of the Holiday Inn Select at 2 p.m.

Rep. Goico served as the deputy group commander for the 931st Air Refueling Group at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., in 1998-1999. He retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 2002 after 32 years of service.

At this year’s commencement ceremony, graduate degrees in Aeronautical Science and undergraduate degrees in Professional Aeronautics will be awarded. The graduating class is composed of both military and civilians. Conferring degrees on behalf of the university and the Embry-Riddle Board of Trustees will be Center Faculty Chair Dick Russell.

Embry-Riddle’s McConnell Center offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Aeronautical Science and Professional Aeronautics and certificates in Aviation Maintenance Technology Part 65 for the Airframe and Powerplant license. Embry-Riddle McConnell accepts non-military students and financial aid is available.

For more information, contact Terri Laurhammer at the McConnell Center at (316) 687-3006 or mcconnell.center@erau.edu.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering and meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 30,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and worldwide through distance learning.