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Embry-Riddle Gets $2.5M ‘Seed’ from Scotts Miracle-Gro CEO

James HagedornDaytona Beach, Fla., Aug. 2, 2007 -- James Hagedorn, chairman and CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro, the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products, has pledged $2.5 million to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to help build a new aviation complex on the university’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus.

The gift is the largest Embry-Riddle has received from a graduate. Hagedorn received a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical science from the university.

“Jim Hagedorn’s generous gift is yet another example of his dedication to the continuing growth of his alma mater,” said Embry-Riddle President John P. Johnson.

Previously, Hagedorn has funded three endowed student scholarships at the university, and in 2006 he served as the spokesman for “Raise the Rate, Just Participate,” an alumni giving campaign.

The aviation complex will add two new structures totaling 95,000 square feet to the campus’s College of Aviation Building. The first building will house flight planning and dispatch areas that operate like actual airport fixed-base operations, as well as classrooms, bays for instructor pilots, and offices for faculty and staff. In the second building, a hangar will house maintenance operations for the flight training fleet, and a conjoined hangar will hold labs, offices, and equipment for the aviation maintenance science degree program.

The aviation complex also will serve as a gateway to Embry-Riddle for travelers arriving at the Daytona Beach International Airport.

“These new buildings are the fulfillment of our vision for the College of Aviation,” said Tim Brady, dean of the College of Aviation. “They will visibly showcase our world leadership in aviation and aerospace education to the industry and community.”

After graduating from Embry-Riddle in 1979, Hagedorn served in the U.S. Air Force for seven years as a captain and F-16 fighter pilot. A member of Embry-Riddle’s Board of Trustees since 2005, he chairs the investment committee and serves on the academic and development committees.

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. The university educates more than 34,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through its Worldwide Campus at more than 130 centers in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.erau.edu.