Westminster College board votes to discontinue aviation program


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SALT LAKE CITY — Westminster College's board voted on Friday to discontinue the college's aviation program. Administrators said the program was too costly to be sustainable.

The college had offered the aviation program for the past 17 years, producing around 300 pilots.

Airline pilots are expected to be in high demand for years. Boeing expects the world will need 637,000 pilots — 117,000 in North America alone. Regional airline pay has been rising the past few years, with some airlines offering tens of thousands of dollars in signing bonuses.

"It's been a fantastic program, but it's a program that's expensive," said Westminster College President Stephen R. Morgan. "It's expensive not only for our school but it's expensive for our students."

The college operates its own flight school at Salt Lake City International Airport.

"A flight school has a fleet of planes, it has hangar operations, it has mechanics, it has dispatchers, flight instructors, it's a robust operation," Morgan said.

The school had looked into ways to operate the program more efficiently, Morgan said, but the board decided to discontinue the program was the best decision.

Hours before the vote, aviation students held a protest hoping to sway the board's decision.

Westminster College's board voted on Feb. 16, 2018 to discontinue the college's aviation program. Hours before the vote, aviation students held a protest hoping to sway the board's decision. (Photo: KSL TV)
Westminster College's board voted on Feb. 16, 2018 to discontinue the college's aviation program. Hours before the vote, aviation students held a protest hoping to sway the board's decision. (Photo: KSL TV)

"It's not a protest against the college. It's a protest so that we can stay with the college," said senior Emma Fox.

Fox said she was particularly drawn to Westminster's program because of the school's well-rounded curriculum.

"We have this aviation background, but it's surrounded by a core of arts and history and social sciences and this liberal arts core that makes us who we are," she said.

The program will continue long enough for current students to finish, ending after May 2021. Fox plans to work in aviation education after she graduates. She said it was sad to think of Westminster College aviation legacy dying out.

"It's really important to all of us to see the growth rather than the diminishing of something that gave us so much," Fox said.

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