In his eight years on the Farmingdale State College (FSC) faculty, Meron “Ron” Lindenfeld, EdD, associate professor in the Pasternack School of Engineering Technology’s Aviation Department, has advanced game-changing initiatives so the College may provide additional educational opportunities. This started in 2021 when he served on a team of faculty that helped FSC receive Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program status from the Federal Aviation Administration for its Professional Pilot and Aviation Administration degree programs. In 2024 Lindenfeld joined countless faculty and staff to celebrate the ribbon-cutting for FSC’s new Air Traffic Control (ATC) Lab, made possible by a $430,000 New York state investment he was instrumental in securing.
However, the only child of immigrant parents was not always a high achiever. He struggled with academics in middle and high school, ironic considering he grew up on the Michigan State University campus while his parents completed their PhDs.
His passion for aviation started early. He recalls an overseas flight to visit his grandmother when he was about 5 years old.
“We got on a 747 and I just remember feeling the rush of acceleration on takeoff, and watching the world from a high altitude, and looking out at all these cool things happening on the wings, and wondering what it was like to be at the flight controls,” Lindenfeld reflected. “After that, I was just obsessed.”
The family moved to Long Island, where his mother built a career caring for geriatric veterans as an administrator for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and his father taught mathematics at various universities including the Fashion Institute of Technology and Touro College.
“Between my mom’s work ethic and my dad’s generosity and devotion to his students, I feel like I’ve taken those things, particularly later when I found my path in life,” Lindenfeld said.
His career in higher education seemed like a natural progression, but he needed more encouragement. To counter his lackluster academic motivation, he excelled in sports, particularly in baseball.
“I was very, very competitive, mostly with myself,” he recalled. “Every time I went out and did something, I wanted to always do better than I did the last time.”
That drive pushed Lindenfeld to go back to school to obtain a degree despite experiencing a catastrophic injury that left him hospitalized for six months. While rehabilitating, he watched a video with tandem two-seater high performance gliders that had hand controls for people with limited mobility. After completing an associate degree, he learned to fly gliders in the Freedom’s Wings International program, inspiring him to pursue a four-year aviation degree.
“I couldn’t believe that I was going to class, parking my van, wheeling to the building with airplanes flying right over the school, where I’m sitting in a classroom that’s overlooking the airport, and I’m getting college credit for learning about airplanes,” he said. “It was just the coolest thing.”
“I have never, in my 20 years of teaching, woken up saying, ‘I don’t want to do my job today.’” Meron “Ron” Lindenfeld, associate professor, aviation administration
Lindenfeld earned a spot on the flight team and competed for the next four years in flight simulation events, placing first regionally in three out of four years and in the top 10 nationally.
“When I played baseball, I loved the pressure of being at the last half of the inning with runners in scoring position with our team down and trying to come through and get the win,” he said. “This was the first time I felt that rush again, and it was just awesome.”
He continued on to earn a master’s degree and a doctorate at Dowling College, where he also began a teaching career before coming to Farmingdale in 2016 as an adjunct, which led to a tenure-track faculty position.
Fayaz Nasery, a senior in the Aviation Administration Program, was in Lindenfeld’s ANV101 course as a first-year student and later was hired as an assistant in the ATC lab. He describes Lindenfeld’s high standards, both those that he holds himself to and those he expects from students.
“He is always looking for improvements, even the tiniest thing in the lab, to make things more seamless or more efficient, and better for students,” said Nasery. “Dr. Lindenfeld has always pushed me to find ways to improve, both in class and other areas of my life. I’ve adopted that mindset from him.”
Nasery has applied for a load planner position at a major commercial airline and credits Lindenfeld with the encouragement and support that got him to where he is today.
“He puts in countless hours, making sure everything is perfect for the students. It’s really motivating for me to work with someone like him,” said Nasery. “It makes me want to get up and get after it!”
“I come to work and I talk about airplanes, airports, and air traffic control, and they give me money for that. It’s awesome. I have never, in my 20 years of teaching, woken up saying, ‘I don’t want to do my job today,’” Lindenfeld reflected. “I’ve always wanted to fly. I’ve always wanted to fly an airliner. I couldn’t do that after my injury, but what allowed me to get past that was using my talent and ability to teach that I never knew I had. My mission in life is to help other students that have a passion to get to that point.”
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