Military institute awards $1 million to Indiana schools that help service members, veterans
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University on Friday (June 18) awarded more than $1 million to 30 Indiana institutions of higher education that will use the funds to create new or enhance existing opportunities and programs for Indiana's student military service members and veterans and their families.
The funds were granted through Operation Diploma, an institute initiative that was created in 2008 with a $5.8 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
"The level of commitment expressed in this year's proposals is inspiring," said Stacie Hitt, director of Operation Diploma. "The higher education community in Indiana is really tuned in to the attributes and needs of student military service members and veterans and understands that campuses are part of a larger community in which these students thrive."
In 2009 Operation Diploma awarded more than $270,000 to 21 Indiana colleges and universities that proposed creative ways to shrink existing gaps in services for these students. This year's awards were granted to institutions for proposals that tackled challenges in student retention and academic persistence, as well as those that focused on the importance of postsecondary education to a skilled and competitive work force. The grant money was divided into three tiers.
Grants of up to $15,000 were awarded to Franklin College, IU Kokomo, Ivy Tech Columbus, Ivy Tech East Central (Muncie), Ivy Tech Northwest (Gary), Ivy Tech Southeast (Madison) and Ivy Tech Southwest to fund new or pilot programs and initiatives.
Grants of up to $50,000 were awarded to enhance and expand established programs and initiatives at the following Indiana institutions:
* Ball State University
* Grace College and Seminary
* Indiana University Bloomington
* Indiana University East
* Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
* Ivy Tech Bloomington
* Ivy Tech Central
* Ivy Tech Kokomo
* Ivy Tech Lafayette
* Ivy Tech Richmond
* Ivy Tech South Bend
* Purdue North Central
* St. Mary-of-the-Woods
* University of Evansville
* University of Southern Indiana
Operation Diploma awarded five grants of up to $100,000. Three of the five proposals received funding for collaborative initiatives. They are: Indiana State University and Ivy Tech Community College Wabash Valley; Indiana University Southeast and Ivy Tech Southern Indiana; and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and Ivy Tech Northeast. In addition, top-level grants were issued to Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University.
Purdue University Calumet distinguished itself by earning the top award. This honor is based on the school's proposal to create an academic support program geared specifically toward serving student military service members and veterans. Its goals include increasing the numbers of these students who are recruited and retained at the northern Indiana campus, which serves Lake and Porter counties where more than 2,500 veterans reside.
Called "From Boots to Books," the Purdue Calumet program prioritizes the creation of individualized service plans for every student military service member or veteran on campus. These plans will offer services focused on ensuring student retention and success, including tutoring, counseling, orientations and workshops. Key personnel will include a full-time veterans' specialist and a veterans' ombudsman. The specialist will be responsible for program services and recruitment, while the ombudsman will help establish Purdue Calumet as a veteran-friendly campus based on recommendations defined by the American Council on Education. During 2010-2011, grant money will fund 100 percent of Operation Diploma's program, and it will be sustained through Purdue Calumet general funds from 2011 forward.
"Purdue Calumet has a history of demonstrated commitment, campus-wide department involvement and evidence of support from key, high-level campus personnel," Hitt said. "It offered an outstanding proposal that will become self-sustaining in its second year, something Operation Diploma has urged all grant applicants to prioritize."
The grants were awarded upon the recommendations of a national panel of experts in the fields of student access, success and retention, campus diversity and military education. The panel evaluated proposals based on each project's significance, resource team, plans for implementation and assessment, and budget. Reviewers included professors, administrators and researchers with significant experience in higher education, including Dale Nitzchke, president emeritus of Southeast Missouri State; Steve Kime, former president of the Servicemembers Opportunity Consortium; and Wendy Lang, director of program and policy analysis for the association of State Colleges and Universities in New Jersey.
"We at MFRI are proud to be continuing our support of student military service members and veterans through Operation Diploma's collaborations with Indiana’s colleges and universities," said Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, director of MFRI. "We want Indiana to become a national example of a state that understands what our service members need to succeed -- and goes the distance to provide it.
Operation Diploma focuses on educating Indiana higher education institutions about the needs of student military service members and veterans; engaging these institutions in the identification, creation and establishment of promising practices to serve these students; and enriching the efforts of Indiana's student veterans' organizations as they work to support their members.
Media contact: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Stacie Hitt, hitts@purdue.edu
Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, 765-494-6026, Shelley@purdue.edu