"Knowledge is Happiness"

Ruth Leverenz,
Washington, D.C. November 3, 2008

ATCA Scholarship Luncheon

Thank you so much, Neil [Planzer]. And, congratulations on your successful service as Chairman. Peter, my very best wishes to you as you assume your role next week as ATCA’s Chairman. You have some very big shoes to fill — literally and figuratively — following our friend and distinguished colleague Neil Planzer. I’m happy to see this orderly transition of power at ATCA.

Speaking of orderly transitions of power, we will elect our 44th President tomorrow. All across the Executive Branch, we are in full swing preparing issue papers and other documents and briefings to assist the transition teams from winning party. On November 5, our duty will be to accept the outcomes of the election and to faithfully carry out our responsibilities to ensure an orderly transition of government.

I counted up. In my 33 years with the FAA, I have served 19 different Administrators, counting the actors and the reactors. Each one accepts this critical appointment because he or she wants to accomplish something big for aviation and for our country. And, they have.

I want to take a moment and recognize our current FAA Acting Administrator, the Honorable Bobby Sturgell, with whom it has been my great privilege to serve. Bobby has led us through some tough spots this year. I have seen him weary to the core with all the demands and challenges of this position because he cares so much for aviation, for this industry and for the men and women of the FAA. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Bobby Sturgell has stood tall for all of us.

Let’s talk just for a moment about the orderly transition of the Next Generation Air Transportation System. I believe everyone in this room will agree that NextGen is one of the most important transition issues for the new administration. No matter where you stand, there’s no argument that safety is neither red nor blue. Let’s all work with the transition teams and the new administration to get this done. We need to continue to pull together to make sure the importance of NextGen is made clear. We need to demonstrate that a joint vision, a cooperative effort is what’s gotten us this far and is what is needed for future successes.

NextGen is vitally important to our nation’s and the world’s transportation, commerce, environment, infrastructure, communications, and defense. I applaud ATCA for hosting the Industry Day Forum last September to get industry’s perspective on implementation of NextGen. I thought it was an outstanding exchange of ideas and discussion of the challenges ahead. I know we in the FAA listened and have taken to task what we heard at the forum and what we are hearing in the panel discussions this week.

Now, let me turn to your great scholarship program. ATCA, you are doing a tremendous job with this scholarship program. What a significant legacy for each of the individuals and companies who have contributed. It’s hard work organizing fund raisers, reviewing applications, making choices among so many terrific applicants. You are leveraging benefits for years to come. In the spirit of Presidential transition matters, I am reminded that our first President, George Washington, said at the beginning of his first term in office, “There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature.” He continued on to say, “Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” Here at ATCA you are “walking the walk” — not just “talking the talk.”

You are going to be hearing more in a moment about this year’s scholarship winners. For just about all of them, man has always been on the moon. We heard several speakers talk this morning about the challenges and excitement of incorporating this new generation of data natives into the workforce. We also heard that we are the ones who will need to adapt. In another speaking opportunity a couple of weeks ago, I emphasized mentoring as one of the things we need to foster more of in the workplace. When you mentor these young people, you help them avoid land mines, and they show you a thing or three. And, some of them inspire you. Barry Hyde is here today with his guide dog, Lincoln. Barry is a 3-peat winner of the ATCA Scholarship. You will hear lots more about him in a minute from Becky Umbaugh, but I want to share some words about Barry from an email I received from Cindy Costillo of CSSI. Cindy said in her email, “He is a true inspiration and blessing. My life has been touched and is better for having him in it.” Congratulations, Barry!

In addition to the scholarship program, ATCA is very involved in aviation education and STEM initiatives, as is the FAA. I’ll quickly tell you about a program we are very excited about. We’re deeply involved with a project run by the Department of Energy — the Real World Design Challenge. The goal is to align high schools with 21st Century workforce needs. And, the needs include replacing the more than 60,000 aerospace engineers who will retire in the next 10 years.

That’s not a bow wave. That’s a tsunami. So, what’s the challenge, you ask? The high school students will be working on designing the next generation airplane wing! Kids will get the engineering challenge of a lifetime. Teachers will get professional development. They both get to work with science and engineering mentors from government and industry. I think I am looking at a roomful of people who could be outstanding mentors!!

Ten states will be participating in the Challenge this first year. They are: Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Kansas, Washington, Hawaii, Virginia, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. If you want to get involved, just let us know!

Let me close by saying thank you again for inviting me back to speak at your scholarship luncheon.

I am passionate about education. Education changes lives. To all the fine applicants and the mentors, educators, family, and friends, who support them, we salute you. Our hope is that you will be using your scholarship, opportunities, and freedoms to encourage even greater numbers of young people to pursue careers in aviation.

Fonte: FAA 03/11/2008.