Vaughn College's DeVivo Named to Board of Governors

The president and CEO of Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology has been selected to serve on Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors.

Acting Secretary of the Air Force John P. Roth and Maj. Gen. Mark Smith jointly appointed Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo to join CAP’s top governing board, effective immediately. She succeeds retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. George Perry, whose six-year term on the board ended on May 31.

“I thank Cmdr. Perry for his leadership on the board and look forward to Dr. DeVivo’s service,” said Smith, CAP national commander and CEO.

“Dr. DeVivo has significant executive-level experience in strategic planning and leading through change,” Smith said. “She is well-suited to help Civil Air Patrol in key areas such as strategic planning, enhancing diversity and helping CAP to increase our effectiveness in offering our cadets aviation and other STEM-related career exploration opportunities.”

DeVivo is well-known and -connected within the aviation academic/university community and was most recently recognized for her innovative leadership at the executive level at Vaughn College, founded in 1932 and located in New York City. She is the seventh president and the first woman to lead the institution, which serves a diverse student body of about 1,550 students, of whom about 80% are members of minority groups — mostly first-generation Americans and first-generation college students.

Her strategic objective as Vaughn College’s president/CEO the past seven years has been to transform teaching and learning and create a unique academic experience both inside and outside the classroom. She has led three strategic planning efforts that have transformed the college from primarily a training institution to one that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in aviation, engineering, management and technology.

In a study published in the New York Times, Vaughn College was rated No. 1 in upward mobility out of more than 2,100 colleges and universities nationwide for moving students from the bottom levels of income to the top level.

“It is an honor to join this phenomenal organization,” DeVivo said. “CAP’s commitment to serving the next generation of aviation and aerospace leaders, especially those from underserved groups, is what attracted me to this role of service. I look forward to supporting the board, the staff and the volunteers in their critical work.”

DeVivo is also chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force. She recently provided congressional testimony about the growing need for pilots and aviation maintenance professionals as well as for increased government education funding.

In addition, she is well-connected to and supportive of Civil Air Patrol. The New York Wing’s Academy Cadet Squadron meets on the Vaughn campus, adjacent to LaGuardia Airport.

DeVivo’s degrees include an associate’s from the University of Maryland in Munich, Germany; a bachelor’s from the State University of New York at Albany; a master’s from Fordham University; and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

CAP’s Board of Governors consists of four Air Force appointees, three members appointed jointly by the secretary of the Air Force and CAP’s national commander, and four members-at-large selected by the CAP Senior Advisory Group (CSAG). CAP’s national commander, national vice commander, executive officer and eight region commanders serve as voting members on the CSAG.