Eaker College returns to designation as Eaker Center Published Aug. 17, 2009 By Senior Airman Melissa Copeland Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- By special order of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development has been redesignated as the Ira C. Eaker Center for Professional Development effective Aug. 10. "Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development is being renamed the Ira C. Eaker Center for Professional Development to better align with Air University's organizational composition of 'centers,'" said the Eaker Commander Col. James Galloway. "The overall mission hasn't changed from professional development and will continue under the new 'center' designation." Eaker Center is home to four professional development schools: the Air Force Human Resource Management School, the Commanders' Professional Development School, the Defense Financial Management and Comptroller School and the Air Force Chaplain Service Institute. "[Eaker] serves as the Air Force's cornerstone of Professional Continuing Education within AU producing more than 6,500 graduates a year and compliments the other centers by providing subject matter experts in various fields," Colonel Galloway said. Being designated a center is not new for Eaker. Colonel Galloway stated Eaker College was previously Eaker Center and is now simply returning to the designation. The center was activated in 1986 as the Center for Professional Development. In 1987, it was redesignated as the Ira C. Eaker Center for Professional Development, "to recognize and honor Gen. Ira C. Eaker's significant contributions to the Air Force and the continuing professional development of its members," according to the Eaker Center Web site. "Gen. Ira C. Eaker was a great pioneer for airpower and Eaker Center now, Eaker College then, is very proud to carry his name in accomplishing its key Air Force mission of professional development," Colonel Galloway said. "The highly skilled and professional members of Eaker Center are very proud of General Eaker's legacy and ... are continuously engaged in preparing today's Airmen for tomorrow's challenges." Six years later, the center was renamed a college. And now, the college is once again a center. "Redesignating Eaker College to Eaker Center will help dovetail Eaker's mission with the other crucial missions of Air University," he said. "Additionally it will help illuminate the key, and complimentary, role professional continuing education plays in the overall professional development of our Airmen in an Air Force challenged by multi skilled Air Force Specialty Codes and ever leaner workforces." For more information about the Eaker Center or its professional development schools, visit their Web site at www.au.af.mil/au/ecpd/.