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Delta State’s Speakes presented Wheatley Aviation Award

By January 19, 2012General

From left, Dr. Kurt Barnhart, president of the University Aviation Association, presents the William A. Wheatley Aviation award to Dr. Julie Speakes, professor and department chair of Commercial Aviation at Delta State University.

The University Aviation Association (UAA) awarded its prestigious William A. Wheatley Award for 2011 to Dr. Julie Speakes, professor and department chair of Commercial Aviation at Delta State University. The Wheatley Award, presented at the UAA Fall Education Conference Awards Banquet in Indianapolis recognized Dr. Speakes for 18 years of aviation education experience from the flight line to the classroom. The award is presented in honor of Professor William A. Wheatley, an aviation education pioneer who established a strong relationship between airlines and educators that remains to this day. This award is presented annually to a professional educator who, for more than 10 years, has made outstanding contributions to aerospace education.

Speakes oversees the undergraduate and graduate aviation programs at Delta State and teaches in the graduate program. Prior to returning to Delta State in 2009, Speakes served as chair of the Aviation Management and Business Division at Middle Georgia College (MGC). At MGC, she developed a Bachelor of Science in Aviation degree with four tracks: flight management, air traffic control management, airport management, and logistics management. She also served on the Georgia Aviation Implementation Team for the Georgia Aviation Authority (GAA) and the Transportation Education Foundation of Georgia (TEFGA). Speakes earned Bachelor and Master of Commercial Aviation degrees from Delta State and a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. She is a gold seal flight instructor.

The University Aviation Association (UAA), a nonprofit organization, represents more than 525 members consisting of educators, students, high schools, two- and four-year collegiate institutions offering aviation degree programs, and organizations and industry representatives that support collegiate aviation. The UAA also serves as the voice of collegiate aviation education to government, industry organizations and the general public.