Embry-Riddle Celebrates Centennial Across Campuses, Announces Philanthropic Campaign and Major Gift from Hosseini Family to Launch Next Century of Innovation

• Embry-Riddle has launched a comprehensive campaign to propel the university into its next century of educational excellence and innovation.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., March 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- From around the globe to outer space, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University marks a century of excellence in aviation and aerospace — and envisions an even bolder future. 

The university's centennial celebrations — held this week at its Daytona Beach, Florida, Prescott, Arizona, and Asia campuses — kicked off with a gala that included a historic announcement and donation from Embry-Riddle Board of Trustees Chairman Mori Hosseini and his wife, Forough Hosseini — a $20 million gift to Imagine What's Next: The Campaign for Embry-Riddle.

The campaign, which went public at the March 26 gala at the Daytona Beach Campus, is Embry-Riddle's largest and most successful fundraising effort to date, aiming to raise $300 million in philanthropic gifts by 2030.

At the Daytona Beach Campus event, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis served as the featured speaker, highlighting the university's success in attracting industry partners and serving as an economic engine. This includes a new Boeing Engineering Center at the university's Research Park, on track to bring approximately 400 high-paying jobs to the area, and French aircraft manufacturer AURA AERO opening its headquarters and first U.S. facility on Embry-Riddle's campus.

To the gathering of alumni, trustees, dignitaries, faculty, staff and students, DeSantis described Embry-Riddle as a talent pipeline for driving next-generation aircraft adoption, advancing the booming space economy and making the skies safer.

"Florida leads the nation in higher education, and tonight we celebrate Embry-Riddle, an institution that for over 100 years has exemplified excellence in aviation and aerospace innovation," DeSantis said. "Congratulations to the students, faculty and alumni who continue to strengthen Florida's position as a national leader in academic freedom, classical education and industry."

Chairman Hosseini honored the momentous anniversary by recognizing the university's legacy of partnerships with alumni, donors, industry and government to generate real-world impact. He also emphasized the need to strengthen those partnerships in an era of global competition, when higher education institutions need to "move faster, think bigger and lead with purpose."

"Together, we will shape the next century of aviation and aerospace and ensure that Embry-Riddle continues to lead the world toward what's possible," Hosseini told audiences across Embry-Riddle's campuses.

Imagine What's Next: The Campaign for Embry-Riddle

Embry-Riddle has set a transformational goal with Imagine What's Next: The Campaign for Embry-Riddle. In addition to the $20 million gift from Chairman Hosseini and his wife, generous donors and partners have already committed $175 million ahead of the campaign's public launch to four key growth areas:

• Scholarships and student success: To remove barriers so that every potential future Eagle can transform their dreams into reality.
  
  
• Experiential learning: To further Embry-Riddle's hands-on, learn-by-doing approach and expand the tools, experiences and projects available to students. 
  
  
• Faculty excellence: To attract, hire and develop elite faculty through the creation of endowed chairs, professorships and center directors.
  
  
• Centers of Excellence: To build and strengthen centers that solve the industry's toughest challenges by bringing the right people to work together with the best tools, best data and the urgency to deliver results.

"This $300 million comprehensive campaign is built around one idea," said Embry-Riddle Trustee and Campaign Chair Neal Keating. "If we want the future of flight and space to be safer, smarter and more capable, we must invest in the people and innovative spirit that will build that future."

Eagles Celebrate Across the Globe

From the Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses to the Worldwide Asia Campus in Singapore, Eagles joined in the celebrations at venues decked out in blue and gold.

President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D., opened these ceremonies, speaking about the university's founders — entrepreneur T. Higby Embry and aviation pioneer John Paul Riddle — "who saw infinite promise in human potential beyond the boundaries of earth." He also credited the university's trustees and chairman for their vision and leadership.

"Tonight, as we gather to honor this remarkable legacy, we also recognize that our centennial is a promise to continue pushing boundaries, expanding opportunities and preparing the visionaries who will shape the next century," Butler said.

A highlight of the celebrations came when notable figures in aviation and aerospace — including pilots, astronauts and industry leaders — recognized Embry-Riddle's centennial.

"Congratulations to Embry-Riddle on 100 years of excellence, innovation and leadership," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who is an alumnus, said in the video. "I'm honored to be an Eagle and excited for the next century of Eagles who will contribute to NASA's mission and really mankind's mission to live and explore amongst the stars."

The evening also included a recorded message from NASA astronaut Chris Williams as he hurtled around Earth on the International Space Station. 

"To every student, alum and educator, keep dreaming big, stay curious and keep looking up," he said. "On behalf of the crew of the International Space Station, I want to wish you congratulations on your centennial and thank you for inspiring generations worldwide."

At the Prescott Campus, Chancellor Ken Witcher, Ph.D., joined students, faculty, alumni and industry partners at the new Strategic Academic Flight Education Complex. At the campus ceremony, Witcher said, "Our next century holds endless promise — promise that begins with our students."

At the Asia Campus in Singapore's Seletar Aerospace Park, Matthew Flaherty, vice chancellor and head of Embry-Riddle Asia, told guests, "Our Eagles join us from all over Asia, eager to solve society's greatest challenges and help humanity embrace its fullest potential."

The unveiling of a centennial-themed Embry-Riddle challenge coin capped off the ceremony in Daytona Beach.

"To the next 100 years of Embry-Riddle," President Butler said, "and to our future built on courage, curiosity and the unwavering belief that the sky is never the limit."

Media Contact:
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About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Reporters worldwide contact Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for content experts in all aspects of aviation, aviation business, aerospace, engineering and STEM-related fields. Our faculty experts specialize in unmanned and autonomous systems, security and intelligence, air traffic and airport management, astronomy, human factors psychology, meteorology, spaceflight operations, urban air mobility and much more. Visit the Embry-Riddle Newsroom for story ideas. 

Embry-Riddle educates over 30,000 aspiring aerospace and aviation professionals at its residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida and Prescott, Arizona, and across more than 115 Worldwide Campus locations and online degree programs. In 2024, U.S. News & World Report named Embry-Riddle Worldwide the nation's No. 1 provider of online bachelor's degree programs among private universities. Our residential campuses hold multiple Top 10 rankings. All of our campuses have been ranked Best for Veterans.

SOURCE Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University