Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

WMU Aviation Center Expansion Nears Completion

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/08/21

Upgrades to the College of Aviation at Western Michigan University’s campus in Battle Creek, Mich., are almost complete. The $20-million renovation project includes new classrooms, labs, a simulator bay, and a research center, and it takes the education aviation center from about 16,000 square feet to more than 60,000 square feet. The new facility is slated to open in early May.

State funding is covering the majority of the project’s costs, with the university filling in the remainder. Other new amenities to the college, located at Battle Creek Executive Airport at Kellogg Field, include briefing rooms, a plane paint lab, faculty office space, a café, and upgrades to technology and other labs.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires pilots to retire when they turn 65. College of Aviation Dean Dave Powell said that in the next 10 years, half of all pilots from the three biggest commercial airlines—United Airlines, Delta Airlines, and American Airlines—are scheduled to retire. United Airlines alone says it will have to hire 10,000 pilots over the coming decade, as well as ground crew positions like technicians and flight operations professionals.

“The demand in aviation is significant,” said Tom Thinnes, recruitment manager for the College of Aviation. “The jobs out there are tremendous. Once we get through the COVID craziness, the airline industry will recover. It is already recovering.”

According to the expansion project’s website, the need to upgrade facilities became clear during a master plan study for the College of Aviation in 2008 and resulting Campus Physical Development Plan released in 2009. “New classrooms and labs are necessary to continue to accept students at the College that will match the quality of instruction and research to the standards of practice needed to meet the needs of the aviation and aerospace industries,” the website says.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.

  • New Jersey Day School Opens New Science & Entrepreneurship Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIG Architecture on the 32,000 square foot facility, completed on a 17-month construction timeline in time for the beginning of the new school year.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.