NEWS

Lee Kinnebrew, IV, a captain for Southwest Airlines and recipient of the company’s Presidents Award in both 2013 and 2021, will serve as keynote speaker for Tech’s Summer Commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 23 at the Thomas Assembly Center.

A Tech Class of 1992 graduate cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in professional aviation and a minor in flight engineering, Lee was recognized by the Alumni Association as the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in the College of Liberal Arts in 2023. He has always enjoyed returning to campus from his home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“My experience at Tech was just fantastic,” said Lee, who met his wife Jennifer Crawford on a blind date while both were Tech students. “I can’t say enough great things about the University.”

During his time as Vice President Flight Operations at Southwest, Lee was instrumental in creating the University’s partnership with Southwest Airlines. The company’s pilot training program has helped anchor Tech’s commitment of ensuring students are as prepared as possible for jobs in the 21st-century workforce.

“We’re proud to partner with Tech through Southwest’s pilot pathways program, Destination 225,” Lee said. “We have a number of universities we partner with, but given that it’s my alma mater, I really wanted to see us partner with Tech. They have a great aviation program already, and it’s special that Southwest can say to those students, ‘You too, can reach your goal, and here’s how you can do that.’

“I really feel like so many people helped me get where I am today, I really feel strong that I want to be there at any point in time that a student needs help, I’m willing to go out and provide that help to them.”

Lee holds a certificate in Aviation Safety and Security from the University of Southern California. Since joining Southwest Airlines as a first officer in 1997, he has worked as a pilot interview team member, manager of flight safety, check pilot, director of training, and senior director of training and standards. He has also served the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association as a Flight Data Analysis Program gatekeeper and Aviation Safety Action Program Event Review Team member.

Lee has served as vice-chair for the Airlines for America Training Committee and on the Aviation Industry Advisory Board for Louisiana Tech. He has been honored for his leadership excellence and his achievements in safety and training.

“The opportunities Tech provided me, with all of my ratings and my degrees, those experiences really did parlay into my later schooling,” he said. “We go through a lot of training here at Southwest, so with the opportunities Tech had already given me, I was able to maximize those in the field of aviation.”