Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 5, 2012 – Embry-Riddle President Dr. John P. Johnson and the Chancellor of the Worldwide Campus, Dr. John Watret, have approved the establishment of the Embry-Riddle Worldwide College of Business to replace the current Worldwide Department of Business Administration.
“As business degree programs, faculty and the overall academic footprint continue to expand at Embry-Riddle Worldwide, we are responding by creating a more formal structure to provide quality support for this growth,” said Watret. “Business programs at Worldwide currently serve more than 4,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students in eight degree programs. We are confident that the College of Business at Worldwide is well positioned to meet the education demands from the aviation, aerospace and related industries at all levels.”
Dr. Kees Rietsema, former chair of the Department of Business Administration and now dean of the Worldwide College of Business, stated, “The standup of the College of Business is the direct result of lots of hard work from the people in the College as well as great support from the entire Embry-Riddle Worldwide community. The members of the College of Business realize that in many respects we are only at the beginning of a journey in learning excellence and look forward to the future with enthusiasm and anticipation.”
The Worldwide College of Business will be organized into three departments whose chairs will report to Dr. Rietsema: the Department of Graduate Studies and Management Science, chaired by Dr. Tracey Richardson; the Department of Graduate Studies, Leadership and Business, chaired by Dr. Daryl Watkins; and the Department of Undergraduate Studies, Business and Management, chaired by Dr. Adam Marks.
“The division of the college into three departments positions us better for future success as we continue to add more top-quality faculty and academic programs,” said Dr. Rietsema.
He cites the following positive developments:
• Embry-Riddle Asia is growing at a steady pace, with the first group of MBA in Aviation students graduating from the Singapore campus this December.
• Embry-Riddle’s Center for Aviation and Aerospace Leadership is elevating its national profile by hosting the third annual Aviation & Aerospace Industry Manufacturing Summit, to be held Oct. 8-10, 2012, at Alliance Field in Fort Worth, Texas. The speakers are top industry leaders from business, academia and government.
• The Embry-Riddle High School initiative is attracting attention from high schools across the nation that want to enhance their STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educational offerings with the university’s assistance. The first classes will launch in Fall 2013.
About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and www.facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.
