As Lynn University celebrates its 60th anniversary as one of the most innovative and diverse colleges in America, the university looks back to reminisce on its aviation history in South Florida.
Humble beginnings
In 2017, Lynn University's Burton D. Morgan School of Aeronautics became its own college—the Burton D. Morgan College of Aeronautics—after operating for decades within the College of Business and Management. Before the university marked this noteworthy event in its 60-year timeline, several pioneers dedicated their time and effort to make flight school at Lynn an elite experience, most notably former dean Weldon Case and Professor Emeritus Elton K. Morice Jr. (E.K. Morice).
E.K. Morice joined the Navy during World War II and earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic. By the time he arrived at Lynn in 1983, Morice was already a seasoned pilot managing Boca Aviation's flight school. At the time, Lynn was known as the College of Boca Raton when it proposed and created an option in aviation management for the B.S. in administration degree program. Morice came on board with a passionate spirit to start the aviation management program in a move that defined Lynn's aeronautical footprint for generations to come.
Path to growth
Throughout the years, the aeronautics program received unrivaled support from essential leaders like Weldon Case, former chairman and chief executive of Alltell. In 1997, Case played a vital role in securing a $1 million grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation to establish the School of Aeronautics at Lynn. As a result, the aviation management program adopted the foundation's name to become the Burton D. Morgan School of Aeronautics. Case served as dean from 1998–99 before his death in 1999.
During Case's short tenure as dean, Lynn unveiled a state-of-the-art aeronautic simulator for aviation students to increase their practical hands-on experience and adapt novel flight skills without leaving the ground. In addition, the Burton D. Morgan School of Aeronautics building, a 2,700-square-foot facility located at the Boca Raton Airport, was dedicated to the university and used for classrooms and offices. The school offered an on-campus management program along with the airport building where Lynn students leveraged an assembly area, a virtual pilot simulator, classrooms, a meteorological center and a single Cessna 172 Skyhawk.
A local solution to the nationwide pilot shortage
Today, industry analysts warn of a potential shortage of 30,000 professional pilots in North America in the next ten years.
Lynn University's Burton D. Morgan College of Aeronautics is helping to address the industry's staffing problems by providing much-needed training, technology and professional development to meet increasing demand from the airline industry in South Florida. Students experience a boutique learning environment that ensures plenty of real-world flight time with a fleet of 11 aircraft.
Lynn's personalized approach is partly responsible for the college's FAA checkride pass rate of 95 percent—well above the national average of 85 percent. Lynn's graduates are among the industry's highly trained pilots and airline professionals serving roles at American Airlines, Jet Blue, National Guard, NetJets, Spirit Airlines and the U.S. Air Force.
