Roger Koch contributes $1 million to Ed and Dottie Stimpson Scholarship at Embry-Riddle
Miami businessman honors aviation leader, Ed Stimpson, and creates opportunities for minority students
African-American engineering and computer science students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will soon get a helping hand in financing their education, thanks to a $1 million gift from Miami businessman Roger Koch.
Koch, who in 1998 sold his aircraft interior products company, Aircraft Modular Products Inc., to B/E Aerospace Inc., recently contributed $1 million to fund the Ed and Dottie Stimpson Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship honors Ambasador Edward “Ed” W. Stimpson, one of the most respected men in aviation who served on Embry-Riddle’s board of trustees for 24 years.
“I wanted to create a scholarship program at a top aerospace university that would honor Ed Stimpson and benefit minority students in a technical area,” Koch says.
“Roger Koch’s generous gift will create new opportunities for under-represented students and help attract more minority students to careers in science and technology,” said Dr. John Johnson, Embry-Riddle president.
Koch believes attracting minorities to science and technology fields of study is an important step in advancing the industry. “Most leaders of companies that I know came from technical backgrounds,” says Koch, who began his career as an engineer. 
Koch’s initial interest in helping minority students was inspired years ago while attending an NBAA conference where he noticed few minorities in attendance. “Ed [Stimpson] and I talked about the fact that there isn’t enough assistance for financially needy minorities in science and technology,” recalls Koch. “I was pleased to be able to help. Without financial assistance, I never would have been able to go to college, myself.”
In 1999, Koch originally established the scholarship fund honoring Stimpson with an irrevocable trust, but recently decided to fund it outright with the current $1 million gift.
“The gift is a fitting tribute to Ed Stimpson, one of our genuine heroes of aviation,” says President John Johnson.
Stimpson, who was president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) for 25 years, also served as chairman of “Be a Pilot,” the largest learn-to-fly program in history. While serving with the Federal Aviation Administration, he led the effort to establish the Department of Transportation. In 1994, he championed the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which limited litigation against general aviation aircraft, and in 1999, was named by President Clinton as the U.S. representative for the International Civil Aviation Organization, which sets aviation standards for 185 nations. For his decades of national leadership in aviation, Stimpson was the recipient of many honors and awards including aviation’s highest honor, the National Aeronautic Association’s Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. Just before he passed away November 25, 2009, Stimpson and his wife, Dottie, received an Award for Civic Engagement from the City Club of Boise.
