October 30, 2009

NewMyer heads University Aviation Association

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- David A. NewMyer, professor and chair of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Department of Aviation Management and Flight, will head the University Aviation Association, “the voice of collegiate aviation,” beginning this weekend.

NewMyer will serve a one-year term as president. He is the president-elect, and will be installed as president at the conclusion of the association’s 2009 Fall Education Conference this weekend in Wichita, Kan.

NewMyer said he is honored to be serving as the organization’s president. The professional association includes as it members higher education institutions and individual professional, corporate and other members from aviation flight, aviation management, aviation technology, and air traffic control programs from all over the nation and some international locations. There are more than 100 colleges and universities that are institutional members, he said. That number increases to between 600 and 700 members when including professional members, associate members, and corporate members, such as Cessna and Frasca International, he said.

The organization, one of the many interest groups that represent aviation, deals with a variety of aviation entities, ranging from airlines to airports to aviation manufacturers to aviation-related government agencies, and industry associations, such as the National Business Aviation Association, he said.

Founded in 1947, the organization constantly works with the aviation industry to keep collegiate aviation curriculums up to date, as well as assist its members to develop professionally. The organization is currently working to make sure that universities and colleges are aware of provisions in proposed legislation regarding airline safety and pilot training, NewMyer said.

In October 2008, NewMyer received the organization’s Sorenson Award for “Outstanding Achievement of Excellence in Aviation Research/Scholarship.” In 1994, he also received the organization’s William A. Wheatley Award for Excellence in Post-Secondary Aviation Education.

NewMyer started at SIUC as a part-time visiting instructor in 1975; in 1979 he became coordinator and a visiting assistant professor in aviation management. He became associate professor and chair of SIUC's aviation management and flight department in 1993. The department is within the College of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Before coming to SIUC, NewMyer spent five and a half years in the early and mid-1970s in a variety of aviation-related positions with the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Chicago Area Transportation Study.

A native of Pasadena, Calif., NewMyer attended schools in Covina, Calif. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Redlands in California in 1969; a master's degree in political science-metropolitan studies from Drew University in New Jersey in 1971; a master's in transportation from Northwestern University in 1974; and a doctorate in education administration from SIUC in 1987. He is married to Sue Burroughs and they reside in De Soto.