Southeastern aviation director named officer for state aeronautics commission

Press Release Date: 08-19-2010

DURANT, Okla. – Dr. David Conway, director of the Aviation Sciences Institute at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, was recently named secretary of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2011.

Wes Stucky of Ardmore was selected as chairman of the commission.

Stucky will lead the seven-member board that is responsible for encouraging, fostering and assisting in the development of aviation in Oklahoma. This includes the preservation and improvement of the Oklahoma Airport System and promotion of the state’s top employer -- the aerospace industry.

Rick Armstrong of Tulsa was named vice chairman.

Conway has been a member of the Southeastern faculty since 1998. In 2003, he received the SE Faculty Senate Award for Excellence in Service.

An avid pilot who holds commercial, instrument, CFI and multiengine ratings, Conway retired as a command pilot from the United States Air Force, where he served as an instructor pilot and evaluator pilot in the Cessna T-37 and Boeing KC-135. He is also one of a handful of flight-rated aerospace physiologists.

Conway earned his Bachelor of Science at Texas A&M-Commerce, Master of Science at the University of Southern California, and Doctorate of Education from Oklahoma State University, and has completed coursework in human factors and physiology at specialized schools across the country, including OSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. He has had numerous articles published in various journals and magazines focusing on human factors in aviation.

In addition, Conway recently completed two programs at Harvard University: The Art of Discussion Leadership and The Management & Leadership in Education, as well as a fellowship this summer in Higher Education Management at Vanderbilt University.

The mission of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission is to promote aviation, which includes ensuring that the needs of commerce and communities across the state are met by the state’s 113 public airports that comprise the Oklahoma Airport System, and fostering the growth of the state’s aerospace industry.