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The Aviation Center for Excellence at Fairmont State University will receive $270,000 from the Department of Education to purchase equipment.
The funds were acquired via a Congressionally Directed Spending request by Senator Joe Manchin through the Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill.
Fairmont State offers a variety of aviation related bachelor’s degrees and is West Virginia’s only Part 141 FAA certified school offering programs in Aviation Administration & Professional Flight.
In recent years schools around the state, including Marshall and Shepherd Universities, have created more aviation programs in response to a workforce shortage in the aviation industry.
In 2020, 3,600 West Virginians were employed in the aviation industry with an average salary of $78,000.