College of Business dean announces suggestion to terminate flight program within aviation management degree

 

Advisory Management Advisory Board vice chair Allen Thames (center) heads meeting.

 (Contributed by Art Morris, Dothan Regional Airport Director)

The Aviation Management Advisory Board met on May 10 during which Bill Hardgrave, dean of the College of Business, recommended the Aviation Management Program's flight program be outsourced to a private flight school. He also suggested the flight degree program be sunsetted. 

“The private flight school will be affiliated with Auburn, but will be open to the community. This option should provide an opportunity for more people to pursue their dream of flying,” Hardgrave said.

The outsourcing of the flight program and sunsetting of the flight degree means that students will not be able to receive training as professional pilots through Auburn University.

“It will be in partnership with the University. It won’t be a four year Auburn degree,” said Mike Clardy, Director of University Communication Services.

When asked by a member of the board the primary reason for the decision, Hardgrave said t the aviation management program was no longer viable.

“The overall reason is when we look at the program as a stand alone program, it has been in a state of decline for a number of years,” Hardgrave said. “This year, we will graduate six people from that program.”

Allen Thames, AMAB vice chair, refuted the reasoning that Hardgrave gave for recommending to terminate the flight program.

“The fact that we only graduated six students in one particular graduation is actually fiddling with facts. If we looked at a two year average with three graduations a year, then we could probably accept some numbers based on that analysis,” Thames said.

The board meeting was held open to students currently enrolled in the program, parents, professors, alumni and more. Hardgrave’s visit to the board was unscheduled and the news delivered was unexpected, according to AMAB vice chair, Allen Thames.

“We’re of course all in shock,” Thames said. “We did not expect this sort of bombshell without any advanced warning whatsoever.”

The suggestion to terminate the flight program means more for the University and Aviation management students than just the loss of training, however.

“[The program] won’t be accredited with an outsourcing program. You could come to Auburn and fly on a contract, but you wouldn’t have the same reputation we have now because it’s contracted and not affiliated with an aviation program,” said Jason Mohrman, a United Airlines captain.

“If we lose all of this, students will transfer and not come here to fly at all because we would lose our accreditation and all of our industry connections,” Mohrman also said

Mohrman is leading the alumni efforts to rectify the aviation management program, along with Lee Mills, Fed Ex Express First Officer.

The University has recently entered into a gateway program for graduating pilots with jetBlue Airlines.

“It is a program for the aviation students to reach a major airline, in this example jetBlue, as quickly as possible. It also gives students access to a personal mentor from the day they’re accepted into the program,” said Jose Caballero, a jetBlue captain.

Without the flight school, Auburn students will be ineligible for the gateway program.

“The gateway program is a professional pilot program,” Caballero said. “If there’s no flight degree, there’s no program.”

The suggestion to sunset the flight program must be decided upon by the University Senate.

Advocates for the flight program plan to continue to appeal for their cause.

“We’re going to continue to be positive and state the importance of our program,” Mills said. “Then we’re going to take the fight to where ever we need to take the fight to.”

Read more: The Auburn Plainsman - College of Business dean announces suggestion to terminate flight program within aviation management degree