$15M donation lays groundwork for aviation program at Texas Woman’s University

In support of women in aviation, the Texas Woman’s University System Board of Regents accepted $15 million from the Doswell Foundation, laying the groundwork for a new aviation program. The new program will address the industry-wide pilot and grant better access to an underrepresented group in the industry.

The regents also authorized the naming of a new program, the Doswell School of Aeronautical Sciences. It is expected to begin enrolling students in the fall of 2024, accepting about 25 students per year, but that number is expected to grow in the future. The university is attempting to receive authorization from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to offer a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Sciences with two different tracks. Students could receive professional pilot training for one track and aviation management for the second track.

“Texas Woman’s University and the Doswell Foundation recognize that women have been historically underrepresented in aviation and our shared commitment has led to the creation of the Doswell School of Aeronautical Sciences,” board Chairwoman Stacie McDavid said.

The gift from the Doswell Foundation marks the largest in Texas Woman’s history. This money will help to hire faculty and provide equipment and scholarships for incoming students. The first gift Doswell gave to the university was a $3 million donation to support nursing. Texas Woman’s University is looking for partnerships with major airlines and flight training schools to help support the new aviation program.

“At Texas Woman’s, we are about creating impactful opportunities for women, which include positions for high-paying jobs and leadership roles,” Chancellor Carine Feyten said. “This new program will help us achieve both.”

A goal of the program is to attract more women into the industry as pilots by reducing barriers like cost. The university plans to buy simulators as another way to lower costs for students. FAA-approved coursework will allow the graduates to apply for a Restricted Airline Transport Pilot Certification after graduation. This will lower the required number of flight hours from 1,500 to 1,000. Graduates will be able to become commercial pilots with less time and at a lower cost.

Any young woman who dreams of becoming a pilot should be able to get the training she needs. Exciting news from @txwomans on this new program that will help address the pilot shortage and ensure more women can join the aviation industry.https://t.co/A8zgQH7iRY

— Rep. Colin Allred (@RepColinAllred) May 18, 2023

Texas Woman’s current enrollment is 16,000 students. Of those students, about 89 percent are women. Experts in the industry estimate that the demand for new civilian pilots will grow to over 600,000 over the next two decades. Women currently only make up about five percent of all commercial pilots.

The Dallas Morning News reports that at a recent alumni event, Doswell Foundation CEO Beverly Fricke said that her late husband Kenneth Fricke had dreamed of starting a flight school. Fricke’s husband was Florence Doswell’s nephew and executor of her estate. Doswell started the foundation in 2009, using money from her late husband, Houston Doswell a successful oil and gas producer, to fund her philanthropic efforts.

Fricke told the Dallas Morning News that she feels her aunt by marriage and late husband would both have loved to know the program was beginning.

“She was a successful businesswoman and she always believed that women could do just about anything,” Fricke said to the Dallas Morning News.

The regents voted unanimously but according to the Denton Record Chronicle, this decision is pending approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, as well as the FAA.