The Bill Noe Flight School at Marshall University will bring more students and economic development to the region.
By Molly McClennen
HQ 109 | SPRING 2020
The relationship between Marshall University and the Tri-State region has always been characterized by reciprocal support. Area residents and businesses have proudly backed the mission of the university, and the university has provided leadership and resources to promote the development of the region.
This town-grown relationship will strengthen further when Marshall’s aviation school accepts its first students in August of 2021. The development of aviation degree programs for Marshall is the result of numerous partnerships between the university and Charleston’s Yeager Airport, Huntington’s Tri-State Airport and Mountwest Community and Technical College. The aviation school will not only benefit Marshall by eventually attracting a projected 300 new students, but will also attract aviation-related industries to southern West Virginia and provide much-needed economic development for the region.
“The aerospace field is growing worldwide,” says Nick Keller, director of Yeager Airport. “In 2018, we approached Marshall about the possibility of locating a flight school at Yeager, and they were very receptive to the idea. The aerospace industry needs more people educated in aerospace careers. I believe if we have an educated workforce here, that will bring jobs to West Virginia. The development of aviation programs at Marshall is a tremendous opportunity for the airport and for the whole regional economy.”
Named after a former Marshall University Hall of Fame swimmer, pilot and accomplished business executive, the Bill Noe Flight School will offer a four-year degree for pilots. It will be housed between Marshall’s South Charleston campus and Yeager Airport, where a 10,000-square-foot academic building including a flight simulator, a hangar and an aircraft parking apron will be constructed beginning this summer. Marshall is also developing a two-year aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) program in conjunction with Mountwest. The MRO program will be located at Tri-State Airport. In addition to the flight school and MRO programs, Marshall will offer an aviation management degree in the next two years.
“These are innovative programs that will create a lot of attention for the region, for the airports and for the university,” says Dr. Jerome Gilbert, president of Marshall University. “The programs will be major draws for students from both inside and outside the state, and we are confident that these programs will attract industry to the region to employ our graduates.”
When Gilbert and other university leaders were exploring the feasibility of offering aviation degree programs at Marshall, they drew upon the knowledge and resources of Huntington native, Marshall alumnus and Board of Governors member Bill Noe. Noe has worked in the aviation field for decades, starting as a flight instructor and eventually becoming the president and COO of Ohio-based NetJets.
“The more we talked with Bill about the program, the more excited he got,” says Gilbert. “He has so many contacts that we realized having him on board as an adviser to this program was going to be significant.”
Noe agreed to serve as executive aviation specialist for the new programs, volunteering his time for an initial period of five years to advise on all major decisions. To recognize Noe for this support, the Board of Governors approved naming the flight school in his honor.
“We wanted to recognize Bill’s service,” says Gilbert. “He has a reputation that will open doors for us. He has already negotiated a number of things for us we could not have done on our own. We are delighted to have him as the lead in this program, and having his name associated with the program gives us the potential to develop one of the best flight schools in the country.”
“When they decided to name the flight school after me, I felt overwhelmingly humbled,” says Noe. “It is an incredible honor to be able to leave a mark like this on my hometown and alma mater.”
Noe believes Marshall has good timing with deciding to offer aviation programs now.
“There is a pilot shortage around the world. The statistics show that the aviation industry will be hard pressed to be able to catch up with the demand over the next 20-30 years,” he says. “The opportunities for careers in the military or with corporate, commercial or regional airlines are all wide open. They are starving for pilots in every area. The aviation industry has an incredible shortage of maintenance technicians as well. Offering these programs will be a huge benefit to the university. They will be very popular among students and will meet a great need in the industry.”
Noe says students would be wise to earn a degree while working on their pilot or aircraft mechanic certifications; education is incredibly important, he says, and having the degree opens doors to additional career options in the field, including opportunities in management or teaching.
Noe says he is thankful for the education Marshall provided him and looks forward to helping a new generation of students start their careers in aviation.
“I started flying because I thought it was the coolest job in the world, with the best office view you could ever imagine,” says Noe. “And after my career in aviation, I still feel the same.”
