When the record-breaking throng of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students strolled onto the mile-high Prescott campus for orientation and registration Aug. 19-23, the on-campus population jumped by about 10 percent over the same time last year.
No exact figure has been cited, but it appears that more than 2,200 students have registered for courses on the Prescott campus of the world’s largest fully accredited university that specializes in aviation and aerospace programs. (ERAU has residential campuses in Prescott and Daytona Beach, Florida.)
That is quite an increase from just three years ago, when slightly more than 1,700 students had enrolled. In fact, that is an average increase of about 10 percent a year over the past few years. Freshmen number somewhere around 700 students – about 200 more than just three years ago.
Like last year, the student body is cosmopolitan – male and female, undergraduate and graduate – with representatives of all 50 states and dozens of foreign nations.
The economic impact of those students is not just on the ERAU campus but also on the greater community, in both direct and indirect spending. Limited on-campus dormitory housing had ERAU officials renting space from Prescott College, a private liberal arts institution located about four miles south of ERAU. Further, many students banded together to rent homes and apartments in residential areas, at what some said was “pretty costly monthly rent.”
Local grocery stores and restaurants felt the positive impact, too, of the increased student buying. So did service stations and other retail merchants.
When students entered classroom buildings, labs and other campus facilities on Aug. 24, much of what they observed was renovated and upgraded – or under construction. A lot of changes have occurred since commencement on May 2.
Campus Expanding to Meet Increased Students Interests, Needs
Construction is solidly underway on the $17.3 million multi-story residence hall on the southwest edge of the 539-acre campus.
When completed next spring, the 264-bed facility will feature 720-square-foot suites equipped with kitchens, two bedrooms, a lounging area and full bathrooms. The building also will have amenities such as elevators, laundry facilities, an exercise room and lounge area.
Larry Stephan, dean of students for 36 years, has said the upscale residence hall will have appealing enhancements to attract students. “It is not the old-fashioned dormitory that their parents had.”
The 67,505-square-foot building was designed by Leo A. Daly, an internationally known architectural firm. It is being paid for through a long-term bond.
Athletic Complex Dedicated to Multiple Uses
The old Eagle Gym (Ernie the Eagle is the mascot for ERAU) has been not just renovated, but expanded and modernized to the point that former students and alums, who worked out or played in the facility, likely will not believe they are in the same site.
Though many fundamental structural ribs are the same, the visual appearance – a before and after look – does not seem so. For example, a redesigned entrance and new bleacher seating for more than 300 people are accentuated by attractive contrasting paint treatments throughout. Wide hallways and new faculty and staff offices are contemporary.
Now called the Eagle Athletic Complex, the facility is capable of supporting traditional activities as varied as Octoberfest Homecoming events to the International Festival or community service events. It also will be the home for ROTC training, campus club sports intramurals and a Sport Court multi-purpose floor with basketball backboards, volleyball standards and a floor lined for each sport. New men’s and women’s locker rooms for both home and visiting teams are superbly equipped, says Athletic Director Ted Blake.
The university sponsors intercollegiate athletics in multiple sports: men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s basketball, women’s softball and wrestling. ERAU plans to add women’s basketball in 2016.
Volleyball coach Jill Blasczyk said the new facilities will “…give us a competitive edge.”
Teams compete in the California Pacific Conference and are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
“This particular facility will be used by our students, staff and faculty and by intercollegiate athletics, especially volleyball and wrestling,” said Chancellor Frank Ayers. “It also will be used for special events from across campus. The floor can be covered with carpet in about an hour.”
STEM Building Construction Expected Within Months
Plans for the long-awaited Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Building are moving ahead. Ayers says he met with the ERAU Board of Trustees Finance and Capitol Planning group in mid-July to review the proposed STEM facility. He expects it to take two years to complete the project, with an estimated cost of $22 million.
Architecturally designed by Leo A. Daly, the same firm that created plans for the residence hall, the 51,500-square-foot building will contain two large classrooms, 17 laboratories, NASA Space Grant rooms, high-speed computation and simulation space, faculty and adjunct faculty offices and other meeting facilities.
A special feature within the STEM Building will be a 125-seat domed planetarium and lecture hall. That space will be open to the public, especially students from not just Central and Northern Arizona but also the rest of the Southwest.
“We view the STEM facility as a site for providing quality educational experiences for students, no matter where they come from,” Ayers said.
Funding for the multi-story building will come from bonds and major business, corporate and individual contributors, says Steve Bobinsky, executive director of development for ERAU-Prescott.
ERAU Focuses on Preparing Students for Success
Data cited by Affordable Colleges Online indicates that ERAU-Prescott has been listed in the top one percent of all private universities for return on investment for students. It also states that ERAU graduates have a 96 percent job placement rate.
Degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, offered by ERAU-Prescott are all in the sciences. The four colleges from which students can select majors are the Colleges of Arts and Science, College of Aviation, College of Engineering and College of Security and Intelligence. QCBN
Story and Photo by Ray Newton
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