PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. - Marking a transformative gift, Broward College hosted a dedication ceremony on Aug. 20 to recognize the $4.1 million gift of two jet engines to the aviation maintenance program.

The Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines, donated by Fort Lauderdale-based company GA Telesis, are used in modern jetliners like the Boeing 777. The massive engines, which weigh more than 12,000 pounds each, are housed in a hangar at the Emil Buehler Aviation Institute, located at the Judson A. Samuels South Campus in Pembroke Pines.

Russell McCaffery, Dean of the College's transportation programs, noted that about half of the Institute's 1,400 students are enrolled in the aviation maintenance program.

"Every engine, every airframe, every piece of equipment our students touch here becomes the foundation for a career that starts the day they walk across the graduation stage," McCaffery said.

The Broward College Foundation worked with GA Telesis to secure the donations. Terry Mularkey, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and CEO of the Broward College Foundation, .described the donation by Abdol Moabery, GA Telesis President and Chief Executive Officer, and Cathy Moabery, Head of Global Marketing at GA Telesis, as a "transformative gift."

"What is good for Broward College is very good for Broward County," Mularkey said.

In May, the engines were transported to the South Campus with transportation and logistical support from MD Turbines.

"Starting this semester, our students will disassemble, inspect, troubleshoot, and master the exact widebody engine technology driving commercial fleets today," said John Wensveen, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs. "This partnership is the living definition of what I mean when I say: Broward College is the economic development engine of Broward County."

The Trent 800 engines replaced two older engines that are no longer used in current commercial aircraft.

-BC-