PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
CHANCELLOR'S MESSAGE
Dear Graduates, Congratulations. This is a memorable day for you and a cause for pride and celebration for your family. Enjoy this moment. You worked hard to earn it. We hope you will remember Embry-Riddle as a place that supported you, challenged you and prepared you for a life of purpose and contribution. On behalf of the faculty and staff of the university, we were proud to serve you. You inspired us. Your passion and persistence in pursuing your goals gives us confidence in the future you will help create. Please know that Embry-Riddle will always welcome you as a Forever Eagle and wish you every success, personally and professionally.
Graduates, As Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide graduates, you have demonstrated exceptional commitment and dedication to earning your degree. I congratulate each of you. Your degree from Embry-Riddle Worldwide symbolizes more than academic knowledge and aptitude. It’s also evidence of your hard work, perseverance, and character. It is our sincere hope that you look back on your time at Embry-Riddle with pride. Although this is the end of an academic journey, it is the beginning of the next chapter in your lives. Congratulations.
Regards,
Sincerely,
John R. Watret, Ph.D. Chancellor, Worldwide Campus Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
P. Barry Butler, Ph.D. President Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
In 2017, P. Barry Butler became the sixth president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s leading institution of higher education focusing on aviation and aerospace. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University offers more than 100 bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts & Sciences, Aviation, Business, Engineering, and Business, Security & Intelligence. Embry-Riddle educates more than 34,000 students annually at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, through the Worldwide Campus at more than 100 site locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and through online programs. Under his presidency, Embry-Riddle continues to expand discovery-driven degree programs and its research park is home to new aerospace patents, technology transfer and startups. Butler has encouraged collaboration with industry, resulting in expedited hiring initiatives with leading aviation and aerospace industries. He is expanding the university’s interest in aviation cybersecurity, aviation data analytics and autonomous vehicles. The university also created new partnerships to prime the aviation/aerospace pipeline.
As a strong advocate for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, Butler supports a dual-enrollment program with the Gaetz Aerospace Institute. The institute offers more than 40 university courses to students in 84 Florida high schools. At the Arizona Campus, the STEM Education Center serves as a hub of enrichment for students, faculty, researchers and the community. Previously, Butler was Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Iowa. He was responsible for more than 100 academic programs in 11 colleges. For ten years, he served as Dean of the College of Engineering. Butler is on the board of the Hoover Presidential Foundation and The Wings Club. He is a member of The Civic League of the Halifax Area. He is a private and glider pilot. He earned three degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: a bachelor’s and master’s in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. John R. Watret, Chancellor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide provides leadership and strategic direction that fosters growth, maintains academic integrity and promotes efficient operations for the Worldwide Headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida and more than 100 site locations worldwide. Watret has overseen the growth and expansion of online education for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His commitment and dedication to leading the campus to provide accessible, tech-forward degree programs is reflected in the award winning, highly recognizable programming and curriculum that is used with more than 20,000 students annually. Under his direction, Embry-Riddle Worldwide has been ranked top two in the country by "U.S. News & World Report" for Best Online Bachelor’s Programs and has held rank in the top five for the last seven years.
Watret is active with organizations both nationally and internationally, serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Asia, Ltd. in Singapore; as immediate past Chair of the Board for Florida Virtual Schools; as an elected member for the Flight Safety Foundation Board of Governors; and as a board member for the Aerospace Alliance, Inc. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) and has been a featured speaker and panelist at several national and international conferences. During his 30+ year tenure with the university, Dr. Watret has served in several administration roles and he is a tenured Professor of Mathematics. A licensed private pilot, he holds a Ph.D. and Master of Science in Mathematics, both from Texas A&M University, and a bachelor’s degree with honors from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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