Purdue University recently went to a policy where all new professors within Aviation Technology are tenure-tracked and therefore must have a Ph.D or be enrolled in a Ph.D program with a Masters before they're eligible for hire. Of course, existing professors are grandfathered in but are "highly encouraged" to pursue Doctorate-level studies.

I personally think requiring such academic credentials in a field where professional experience is so much more pertinent than theory...but research is the name of the game these days ($$$) and "trade schools" within major universities are evidently being told to toe the line.