Opinion: Universities must step up as aviation’s workforce gap widens

In a Your View opinion column in The Morning Call, President Bryon Grigsby ’90 shares that universities are uniquely positioned to help close aviation’s widening workforce gap by aligning academic programs with the real-world needs of a critical industry. 

November marked National Aviation History Month, a timely moment to reflect on the broad role of aviation in our region, economy, and educational ecosystem. At the same time, the industry is facing persistent workforce challenges: shortages of pilots, air-traffic controllers, operations managers, manufacturing and repair, and others who help keep the system safe and moving.

Moravian University is responding by launching new Aviation Management, Professional Pilot,and Air-Traffic Control programs, in partnership with flyGATEWAY flight school beginning in fall 2026. This initiative is not simply about meeting demand, but about aligning higher education with real-world infrastructure and service needs.

When people think of aviation professionals, pilots often come to mind. But sustaining air travel requires a full ecosystem: air-traffic control personnel, dispatchers, ground operations, airport management, logistics and safety oversight.

To read more, click here: Opinion: Universities must step up as aviation’s workforce gap widens