$20 million gift from the Hosseini Family to aeronautical university aims to shape the next century of innovation
Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University began its second century this week with a transformative act of generosity, unveiling a record $20 million gift from Board of Trustees Chairman Mori Hosseini and his wife Forough Hosseini to launch Imagine What’s Next: The Campaign for Embry‑Riddle.
The comprehensive $300 million philanthropic campaign was introduced during the university’s centennial gala on March 26 at the Daytona Beach Campus — a celebration that blended reflection on Embry‑Riddle’s 100‑year legacy with a powerful call to shape the decades ahead.
The gala drew trustees, alumni, community leaders, and dignitaries from across Florida, with Governor Ron DeSantis serving as keynote speaker. In his remarks, the governor praised Embry‑Riddle as both an academic powerhouse and an economic engine, citing the university’s steady stream of high‑skilled graduates and its expanding partnerships with such aerospace leaders as Boeing and AURA AERO.
He applauded the Hosseinis’ leadership as emblematic of the state’s spirit of enterprise and philanthropy. “Florida leads the nation in higher education, and tonight we celebrate an institution that has defined aviation and aerospace excellence for more than a century,” DeSantis said.
For Chairman Hosseini, the evening represented far more than an institutional milestone. It was a moment to reaffirm his family’s deep‑rooted belief that transformational education depends on visionary private support.
“Together, we will shape the next century of aviation and aerospace,” he told attendees. “To lead in this era of global competition, we must move faster, think bigger, and lead with purpose.” His words carried personal weight: as founder and CEO of ICI Homes — one of Florida’s largest and most successful homebuilders—Mori Hosseini has spent decades pairing business acumen with civic passion. His entrepreneurial success has long gone hand in hand with philanthropy.
Through the Hosseini Family Foundation, he and Forough have directed tens of millions of dollars toward education, healthcare, the arts, and humanitarian causes across the state. Their giving has bolstered institutions such as the University of Florida, Daytona State College, and Halifax Health, often focusing on projects that expand access, promote innovation, and strengthen families.
Forough Hosseini, widely recognized for her leadership in social service and education initiatives, has built her own legacy of compassion through programs addressing food insecurity, youth mentorship, and women’s empowerment.
Together, the couple’s civic engagement has reshaped the philanthropic landscape of Central Florida—a commitment that now extends globally through Embry‑Riddle’s reach in aviation and aerospace education. Their latest gift is the largest single contribution ever made by a sitting board chair to the university and becomes the cornerstone of its next‑century campaign.
Embry‑Riddle President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D., described the Hosseinis’ contribution as “a defining moment in Embry‑Riddle’s history — a statement of confidence in what education can accomplish when philanthropy and vision meet.”
Already, the campaign has secured $175 million in foundational commitments ahead of its public launch, supporting key priorities such as scholarships for aspiring aviators, experiential learning facilities, endowed faculty chairs, and state‑of‑the‑art research centers designed to address the aerospace industry’s most complex challenges. Embry‑Riddle Trustee and Campaign Chair Neal Keating framed the initiative succinctly: “If we want the future of flight and space to be safer, smarter, and more capable, we must invest now in the people and innovative spirit that will define it.”
Across the university’s global network—from Daytona Beach and Prescott, Arizona, to its Asia Campus in Singapore—the centennial celebrations echoed with pride and anticipation.
President Butler honored founders T. Higby Embry and John Paul Riddle as “entrepreneurs who saw infinite promise in human potential beyond the boundaries of Earth.”
Messages of congratulations poured in from noted alumni, including NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who hailed his alma mater’s century of innovation, and astronaut Chris Williams, speaking from aboard the International Space Station, who sent a salute “to the next 100 years of Eagles who keep looking up.”
The celebrations culminated in the unveiling of a centennial‑themed challenge coin—a symbolic gesture linking Embry‑Riddle’s past, present, and future. As President Butler addressed the crowd for the final toast of the evening, he reflected on the moment’s meaning.
“This anniversary is more than a milestone,” he said. “It’s a promise to continue pushing boundaries, expanding opportunities, and preparing the visionaries who will shape the next century.”
With the Hosseini family’s leadership gift setting the pace, that promise now rests on a remarkable foundation—one built by donors who see in education not only the engine of progress but the heart of possibility itself. For Embry‑Riddle, the next hundred years have already begun.