William A. Wheatley Award

In 1940, William A. Wheatley retired at the age of seventy as the Dean of the State Teacher’s College at Edinboro, PA, and embarked upon a new career as Director of the School and College Service Department of United Airlines. His personal sponsor was W. A. Patterson, long-time President of United. Professor Wheatley established a relationship between educational institutions and the aviation industry--and particularly United Airlines--which endures to this day.

Wheatley is widely recognized for his many publications, teachers’ manuals, and other documents that brought aviation to the classroom. In 1942-43 alone, over 300,000 students received a packet of aviation education materials, and in succeeding years more than fifteen million students viewed his slide presentation, “Behind the Scenes of a Coast to Coast Flight.” In the seven years before his retirement from United in 1947, Professor Wheatley set a standard for aerospace education that few have challenged to this day. Each year, UAA proudly honors William A. Wheatley, with United Airlines sponsorship, with this award.