Institute funds student veterans' groups to increase access, success
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University on Saturday (Sept. 12) awarded grants to seven student veterans' organizations to help student service members and veterans on campuses throughout Indiana.
The grants of up to $2,000 and totaling $10,600 were awarded through Operation Diploma, a Military Family Research Institute initiative launched through a $5.8 million gift from Lilly Endowment Inc. Operation Diploma assists Indiana's higher education institutions and student veterans' organizations to better serve student service members, veterans entering college for the first time and those re-entering college after an extended service or deployment.
These student-run organizations offer social support to their members and encourage them to pursue community initiatives and service projects, such as Veterans' Day events and collaborations with community organizations, said Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, a professor of child development and family studies at Purdue and director of the Military Family Research Institute.
"Studies have shown that students who have served or are currently serving in the military sometimes feel frustrated, alone and misunderstood when they arrive on campus," MacDermid Wadsworth said. "Student veterans' organizations are important resources to these students because they offer social, non-academic support and camaraderie during a time when students are navigating the often-confusing landscape of financial aid and student services."
The student veterans' organization winners include:
* First place: Indiana University Southeast
* Second place: University of Southern Indiana
* Third place: Indiana University East
Also receiving grants were the organizations representing:
* Ball State University
* Purdue University - West Lafayette
* Purdue University College of Technology - Columbus
* Indiana State University
"Operation Diploma's grants provide a great opportunity for student success efforts and veterans throughout Indiana," said Andrew Koch, director of Purdue's Student Access, Transition and Success Programs and one of the judges of the competition. "These funds will be used for a variety of purposes - as seed money for new student veterans' organizations, to increase membership of established student veterans organizations, and to develop programs and resources that support student transition and success."
This is the second round of Operation Diploma grants that have been awarded since the program was launched in March 2009. In June more than $270,000 was dispersed through the program to 21 institutions of higher education across the state of Indiana.
"Operation Diploma is awarding these grants at a time when thousands of student service members and veterans are finding themselves eligible for increased education benefits through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which went into effect Aug. 1," MacDermid Wadsworth said. "The Post-9/11 GI Bill is expected to attract more veterans and student service members to campuses across the state and the nation, and that makes it even more imperative to address the needs of this growing student demographic."
Through the new GI Bill, eligible students may have access to benefits such as full tuition and fees for four years at an Indiana college or university, monthly housing stipends, and payment of up to $1,000 annually for books. About 1,100 schools and colleges are offering additional scholarships for veterans, matched by the Veteran's Administration under the Yellow Ribbon program, and Operation Diploma complements this program.
A panel of industry, academic and peer judges evaluated the student veterans' organizations on Saturday (Sept. 14) at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Discovery Park. The review panel included Koch; Don McKay, director of pricing for Sears Holdings Inc.; Henry Feeser, Purdue professor of management and owner of Yabi.biz; and Megan Lewis, state director of Student Veterans of America. The competitive grant process required student veterans' organizations to articulate a clear mission and create plans for leadership and financial sustainability. Representatives from the student veterans' organizations spent the summer developing the proposals with support from Operation Diploma and the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Source: Linda Hughes-Kirchubel, marketing communication specialist, 765-494-2962, lhughesk@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
