The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Wal-Mart Foundation have announced that Park University will receive a $100,000 Success for Veterans Award Grant.
Park is one of 20 higher learning institutions, and the only one in the Midwest, awarded a portion of a total of $2 million in grants, which recognize model programs advancing access and success in higher education for veterans and their families. The grants, announced today, will support efforts to create Online veterans-specific orientation programs, expand on-campus veterans service centers, enhance prospective student outreach efforts, and increase capacity for counseling and psychological services.
"We are so pleased and honored to receive this grant and will use it to provide a more comprehensive and smoother transition to college for veteran students," said Park Provost and Senior Vice President Michael Droge, Ph.D. "Our plan is to implement staff and faculty training to enhance the veteran-sensitive culture at Park."
"Park's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is working in a partnership with the Association for Continuing Higher Education to develop a set of best practices for veteran services," Droge added. "We look forward to sharing our findings with other institutions of higher education in order to impact the success of future veteran students in a positive and empowering way."
ACE received nearly 250 applications for Success for Veterans Award Grants, which were reviewed by a selection committee of higher education leaders, program and policy directors, and veterans. Thirty semi-finalists were selected and reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of retired college and university chancellors and presidents. Selection criteria included quality and sustainability of the existing programs and initiatives, as well as strategies for disseminating best practices to other institutions.
Park University recently launched a web site dedicated to assisting veterans and current U.S. Military personnel with their higher education pursuits. The new web site, http://military.park.edu/, provides a one-stop shop for current military members and veterans to get information about degrees and Online programs at Park, as well as the application and financial aid process.
In December 2008, Military Advanced Education named Park University's College for Distance Learning among the "Top 20 Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities," citing Park's "innovative academic degree programs steeped in excellence."
Other institutions receiving a Success for Veterans Award Grant include: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; California State University, Sacramento; Clackamas (Ore.) Community College; Colorado State University; State University of New York-Empire State University; Fairleigh Dickinson University (N.J.); Fresno (Calif.) City College; George Mason University (Va.); City University of New York-Hunter College School of Social Work; Lane (Ore.) Community College; Los Angeles City College; Madison (Wis.) Area Technical College; Onondaga (N.Y.) Community College; Ramapo College (N.J.); Southwestern College (Calif.); Trident Technical College (S.C.); University of California, Santa Cruz; University of Maine, Augusta; University of Maryland, University College.
"We appreciate the service and sacrifice of our nation's military men and women and our veterans, and have historically worked to address some of the special unmet needs facing the military community," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation. "The Wal-Mart Foundation is proud to support the American Council on Education, its colleges and universities, and many other programs that help our veterans get the resources they need to succeed in their education and their transition back to civilian life."
Over the past year, the Wal-Mart Foundation has awarded more than $3.6 million in grants to organizations in support of programs that provide educational assistance for veterans.
"Higher education is in a unique position to serve the men and women who have so bravely served our nation," said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. "The institutions receiving these grants currently enroll nearly 25,000 veterans. When the expanded GI Bill benefits become available in August, we anticipate that these numbers will increase by approximately 20 percent, giving these institutions the opportunity to serve nearly 30,000 veterans this fall. These grants will provide needed resources to expand and enhance the work already being done on these 20 campuses, and to support the dissemination of lessons learned to other institutions. We are so grateful to the Wal-Mart Foundation for their generous support of these worthwhile projects."
The ACE/Wal-Mart Success for Veterans Award Grants are part of ACE's "Serving Those Who Serve" initiative, a multi-year effort designed to effect major changes in how veterans learn about their education benefits and postsecondary options, and how institutional leaders can build capacity to serve veterans on their campuses. In addition, the Serving Those Who Serve initiative includes a college planning web site and outreach campaign to inform veterans about accessing and utilizing their education benefits, and several research-based publications. ACE also hosted several regional meetings that allowed institutions to discuss concerns and pose questions about the implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
