National aviation media focuses on WMU
July 28, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University's rapidly growing College of Aviation is the focus of a feature in the August issue of Flying magazine, the world's most widely read aviation magazine.
Writer Tom Benenson visited the college last spring and prepared a page-and-a-half report on its programs and facilities for the magazine's training section. The article covers the college's phenomenal growth in recent years, the development of the college's International Pilot Training Centre, the college's training agreement with Mesaba Airlines and the recent gift to the college of a retired Northwest Airlines 747. The article also touches on the success of the Sky Broncos precision flight team and major initiatives under way to increase the numbers of women and minorities in aviation.
"We're delighted to get this kind of coverage in a magazine that's so widely read in the industry," says Dr. Richard Wright, dean of the College of Aviation. "The college has been written about in the publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, but this magazine is tailored specifically to the aviation industry."
The college also figures prominently in a report from a recent issue of Business Aviation, which lists the college's home airport, W.K. Kellogg Airport in Battle Creek, Mich., as the fastest growing general aviation airport in the nation. The growth is attributed to the presence of the WMU aviation program, which accounts for 85 percent of the airport's traffic.
Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 616 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu