Elizabeth City, N.C. — Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) and Lenoir Community College (LCC) celebrated a new aviation partnership with the opening of LCC’s new Senator Jim Perry Aviation Center for Excellence at the N.C. Global TransPark. The new partnership will allow students to dual enroll in both institutions while expanding aviation education and workforce development opportunities in eastern North Carolina.
Through a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions, the partnership creates a pathway for LCC students in Aviation Management and Career Pilot Technology to co-enroll in ECSU’s Aviation Science program while completing associate and bachelor’s degree requirements. Students who complete an associate in applied science degree at LCC with at least a 2.8 GPA will be guaranteed admission into ECSU’s aviation program.
University and state leaders gathered May 19 for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new aviation center, which included remarks from LCC President Dr. Rusty Hunt, North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Daniel H. Johnson, North Carolina Global TransPark Authority Board Chairman Tom Hendrickson and former North Carolina Sen. Jim Perry, for whom the facility is named.
ECSU Chancellor S. Keith Hargrove, Sr. said seeing the partnership come together was both exciting and necessary for the future of the region.
“There’s something powerful about creating opportunities and watching doors open for students,” Hargrove said. “Aviation is growing fast, and the world needs skilled pilots, technicians, engineers and innovators. Partnerships like this ensure students from rural communities and small towns are part of that future, too.”
The agreement is designed to strengthen aviation education across the state while reducing the barriers students may face when pursuing careers in aviation. According to the memorandum, the collaboration seeks to “enhance the quality of aviation education” through shared resources and coordinated programming that benefits students in historically underserved areas of eastern North Carolina.
The agreement also allows qualifying students to participate in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 141 flight training through ECSU instructors and aircraft while completing coursework at LCC.
As part of the collaboration, ECSU will station aircraft at the Aviation Center for Excellence and provide flight instruction, maintenance support and aviation training resources for students. The agreement calls for enough aircraft availability to allow registered students to complete up to three flight training activities per week.
The Senator Jim Perry Aviation Center for Excellence is a new state-of-the-art aviation training facility located at the N.C. Global TransPark in Kinston. The facility includes eight traditional classrooms, 11 maintenance laboratories, a 13,268-square-foot aircraft hangar, conference and study rooms, student spaces and advanced flight simulation technology, including a Redbird full-motion advanced aviation training device.
LCC’s Aviation Academy also creates aviation pathways for high school students through tuition-free Career and College Promise opportunities that allow juniors and seniors to begin aviation coursework before graduation. Programs include aviation management, manned pilot training, unmanned aircraft systems, aviation maintenance and industrial systems technology.
The academy booklet outlines direct transfer opportunities to ECSU, including pathways for high school students pursuing careers as commercial pilots, airline captains, drone operators, aviation managers and aircraft maintenance technicians.
The new collaboration positions students to move from high school aviation coursework to community college training and ultimately into ECSU’s bachelor’s degree program and the aviation workforce — all within eastern North Carolina.
The partnership also adds to ECSU’s expanding aviation footprint across North Carolina as the university continues increasing access to aviation education through regional partnerships and workforce development initiatives.
As the aviation workforce demand continues to grow nationwide, leaders from ECSU and LCC said the partnership represents an investment in the future of eastern North Carolina, creating opportunities for students to train, fly and launch aviation careers close to home. Visit ECSU’s Department of Aviation & Emergency Management to stay updated on the program’s latest news.