The fruits of a partnership between Bowling Green State University and North Star Aviation were on
display Thursday in a hangar at the Bowling Green airport.
Three small planes stood at ready, sparkling with new paint jobs outside, and ready for flight with new
digital displays inside.
These are half the planes in the program’s fleet. The others will also be upgraded, as will the facility.
A new complex, scheduled to be completed by fall, will feature a new 3,000-square-foot hangar and an
over 3,000-square-foot terminal, including classroom space.
All this, BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey said, is made possible through the collaboration with North
Star. The company will collect the special flight instruction fees. North Star will hire the flight
instructors while BGSU faculty provide the classroom instruction.
The company, she said, has a similar arrangement with the University of Minnesota, Mankato.
The university hopes the arrangement will double the number of students enrolled in aviation studies to
more than 100.
Mazey said she’s already talked to one prospective student who put a housing deposit down as soon as he
learned there was an aviation studies program. "It’s a great recruitment tool for us," she
said.
Kevin Doering, the flight center’s general manager, said that new facilities should bring in more
students, and there will be jobs awaiting those students when they graduate.
"There’s a definitely a demand for graduates," he said. Part of his job is to "get the
word out to students that there is a need."
The new facilities and equipment, which Mazey said is possible because of the arrangement with North
Star, should help bring in those students.
Catherine Smith, the chief flight instructor and herself a graduate of the program, believes the
"image of BGSU aviation is going to be exciting for people to see."
That includes prospective students. The new buildings and the upgraded planes should "capture their
attention," she said. "You need to show you can support them."
Venu Dasigi, the interim dean of the College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering, said
that the faculty is excited about the new facilities.
He noted the partnership with North Star will not result in any layoffs, and if more students are
recruited, the university may need more instructors.
Mazey said this is just part of the university’s strategy of collaborating with other entities to improve
services to students and bolster its academic offerings.
Other initiatives are the new Falcon Health Center, owned by Wood County Hospital, and the new Bureau of
Criminal Investigation lab now under construction. The BCI facility will enable the university to
further develop its forensic science programs.