Endowed Scholarship Established to Honor Dr. Dan Coons

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

A group of pilots – mostly products of the DSU Aviation Program – have established a $12,500 endowed scholarship in the name of the founding director of the program, Dr. Daniel E. Coons.

(L-r) Vermell DeLauder, Dr. Dan Coons and his wife. and Dr. William B. DeLauder, who was the president of then-Delaware State College when the Aviation Program was established in 1987.

The Daniel E. Coons Endowed Scholarship will benefit students who major in aviation at DSU. The students must be enrolled full-time, be a sophomore or above, and have an overall grade point average of at least 2.5 or higher. Financial need will be a priority consideration.

The fundraising for the endowed scholarship was spearheaded by retired Air Force Gen. Ernest Talbert, Jr., currently a consultant for the DSU Aviation Program and Dave Harding, a 1995 graduate of the program. A number of DSU aviation graduates contributed to the endowment.

Dr. Coons was present for the announcement of the endowment, which was made at an Alumni Appreciation reception on Feb. 20.

“I feel honored by the generosity of my former students, and I will forever be in their debt,” Dr. Coons said. “The Aviation Program has been a dream come true for me, and this is a wonderful legacy to leave behind, hopefully forever.”

Dr. Coons was the founding director of the then-Airway Science Program at DSU from 1987 to 1992. After leaving for a few years to do consultant work in Egypt, Dr. Coons returned to the University to serve as the special assistant for aviation from 1995-2005.

Considered a visionary in the development of the program, his creative proposals resulted in the University’s acquisition of 10 aircraft, making DSU the only Historically Black University and College in the country that owns and maintains its own fleet.

“Dr. Coons founded the DSU Aviation Program in 1987 with no funds, no fleet and no faculty,” said DSU President Harry L. Williams. “Today, the program has a fleet of aircraft, which includes Piper Senecas, Piper Warriors and Piper Tomahawks.”

DSU’s Aviation Program currently boasts a 100% hiring rate for its professional pilot graduates and ranks among the top five of all aviation programs in the country.