Program History
The Aeronautics Program was founded in 1983 as a separate program within the Davis
College of Business & Technology, offering two major options: Aviation Management
& Flight Operations (AVO) and Aviation Management (AVM). The late Ret. Lieutenant
Colonel Curtis Truver led the program through its first decade. During these first
ten years, flight training was contracted out to various flight schools operating
at Craig Municipal Airport. In 1994, JU hired Dr. Juan Merkt, the program’s second
director. Under his leadership JU established a unique partnership in 1996 with Comair
Aviation Academy (now L3 Airline Academy) to bring airline-oriented flight training
to the program. Our current partner is Acron Aviation. During this second decade the
program grew to over 200 students, becoming one of the largest traditional undergraduate
programs at JU. In the Spring 2007, the Aeronautics Program became the Division of
Aeronautics, one of three academic divisions within the Davis College of Business
& Technology. In 2008, both aviation degree majors (AVO and AVM) earned initial accreditation
by the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI). Later that same year, the
FAA approved Jacksonville University to offer Air Traffic Control as a career track
under the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI). In 2015, the department underwent
another name change to the School of Aviation to realigned to better fit the University's
vision.