The Commencement ceremony for 580 students of Oregon Institute of Technology’s Klamath Falls Campus will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 11, at John F. Moehl Stadium.
The guest speaker will be Dr. Steve Sliwa who has a long and esteemed career in aviation and aerospace, control systems, and business.
Dr. Sliwa retired from his position as CEO of Insitu on April 1 of this year. Insitu is the leading designer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in military and civilian operations.
Insitu is one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the Pacific Northwest and was acquired by The Boeing Company as a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary. For his achievements at Insitu, Dr. Sliwa was named CEO of the Year in 2007 by Washington CEO magazine.
Sliwa initiated his career at NASA, starting as a researcher in control theory and aircraft design and ultimately becoming deputy chief for the Guidance & Control Division at Langley Research Center.
He founded one of the first PC-based educational software firms, selling it prior to attending business school. He then joined Integrated Systems, Inc (ISI) as Vice President of product development, producing tools for control system design.
From 1991 to 1998, Dr. Sliwa served as the third president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which serves more than 18,000 students. During his tenure, revenues, endowments, and capital programs doubled as he led a team that grew industry connections, military-based education outreach, aeronautical research, residential campus activities, and academic programs. At that time, Dr. Sliwa was the youngest university president in the United States.
Dr. Sliwa was CEO of New Colt Holding Corp from 1998—1999, a defense manufacturer (Colt’s Manufacturing), also trying to develop a consumer "smart gun” for which he has a patent. He founded Capital Synergy Partners in 2000 to provide interim executive management for several new ventures including Platform7 in London (smart cards) and eRevenue in Atlanta (ecommerce factoring).
Dr. Sliwa earned his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering (dynamics and controls) and a Sloan MBA from Stanford University. Previously he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from Princeton University and George Washington University,
About Oregon Tech
Founded in Klamath Falls in 1947, Oregon Institute of Technology is one of seven institutions in the Oregon University System, and the only public institute of technology in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Tech provides degree programs in engineering and health technologies, management, communications and applied sciences that prepare students to be effective participants in their professional, public and international communities through hands-on learning. Oregon Tech’s main campus is in Klamath Falls; other sites are located in Portland, La Grande and Seattle. Visit www.oit.edu to learn more about Oregon Institute of Technology.
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