Col. Joshua Hawkins (Commander, 8th Mission Support Group), Maj. Jamila Edgerson (Commander 8th Force Support Squadron), Hayley Yamanaka (Associate Executive Director), Sanghee Park (Chief, Force Development Flight), and Patrick Schoolfield (Education Services Officer) commemorate the grand opening of the ERAU Kunsan Campus. (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide U.S. Military Europe PACOM Campuses expanded their Pacific campus presence and commemorated a new campus location at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea on October 17, 2024. The demand for ERAU degrees and programs has grown exponentially since 2015 when ERAU first joined the Voluntary Education Program on OCONUS bases in the Pacific.
Support of students based in Kunsan AB began in 2023 as a response to a needs assessment conducted with Force Development Flight 8FSS/FSD. ERAU’s programs in aeronautics, aviation maintenance, aviation business administration, engineering, human factors, unmanned systems, safety, and space operations directly met the needs of airmen based out of the installation located on the west coast of the peninsula. Over the course of a year and a half, the Kunsan-based student body grew exponentially and ERAU was formally invited to open the 11th formal campus location within the theater.
Rae Clark, Campus Director, and Yee Chang, Associate Campus Director, work closely with the Force Support Squadron Education Center and partner school, University of Maryland Global Campus, to meet the needs of servicemembers and provide a quality educational experience.
“To get another education option here at Kunsan is highly significant for us,” said Colonel Joshua Hawkins, Commander, 8th Mission Support Group, Kunsan AB. “Embry-Riddle has been pivotal to the Air Force and to the aviation industry…we are excited to be able to look to Embry-Riddle as a partner.” He described the opening event at the installation level as a reflection of the true and enduring partnership with ERAU toward enhanced force readiness and development at large.
“It is a tremendous honor to be an education partner at Kunsan Air Base,” said Dr. John Watret, Chancellor of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Campus. “We look forward to providing cutting edge and industry relevant instruction to servicemembers at Kunsan and to many years of partnership with the impressive Education Centers in South Korea to support the student experience.”
Rae Clark (Campus Director), Joshua Carlson (Adjunct Faculty, College of Aviation), and Yee Chang (Associate Campus Director) support the educational goals and student experience at Kunsan AB. (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Campus Locations in the Pacific
ERAU began offering aviation undergraduate and graduate certificates and degree programs, EagleVision Classroom (EVC) courses, and on-site advising/support services, to members of the U.S. military and their families stationed at overseas Pacific locations in US Forces Japan (USFJ) and US Forces Korea (USFK) in 2015 under a Department of Defense Education contract. ERAU PACOM’s flagship campus locations, Kadena AB in Okinawa and Camp Humphreys in South Korea, opened their doors in August of 2015. Since then, ERAU PACOM has expanded to include eleven campus locations throughout Japan (Kadena AB, MCAS Futenma, MCAS Iwakuni, Misawa AB, NAF Atsugi, Yokosuka NB, and Yokota AB), South Korea (Camp Humphreys, Kunsan AB, Osan AB), and Guam (Andersen AFB). ERAU also supports students located in Camp Foster, Camp Schwab, Camp Kinser, Camp Hansen, Torii Station, Camp Fuji, and Camp Zama. In August 2022, ERAU renewed their commitment to military education in aviation, aerospace, engineering, safety, and more under an Education Services Agreement (ESA).
Website: PACOM Military Campuses Website
About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Reporters worldwide contact Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for content experts in all aspects of aviation, aviation business, aerospace, engineering and STEM-related fields. Our faculty experts specialize in unmanned and autonomous systems, security and intelligence, air traffic and airport management, astronomy, human factors psychology, meteorology, spaceflight operations, urban air mobility and much more. Visit the Embry-Riddle Newsroom for story ideas.
Embry-Riddle educates 33,500+ students at its residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida and Prescott, Arizona, at approximately 125 Worldwide Campus locations and through degree programs ranked by U.S. News & World Report as being among the Nation’s Top Five.
