Institute awards more than $8,000 to benefit student service members, veterans
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University has awarded $8,300 to six student veterans' organizations across Indiana.
The grants ranged from $1,100 to $2,000 and were awarded through MFRI's Operation Diploma, an initiative launched to support and strengthen Indiana's higher education institutions and student veteran organizations on behalf of student service members, veterans and their families.
Student veterans' organizations offer social support to their members and encourage them to become involved in community initiatives, collaborations and service projects, said Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, professor of child development and family studies at Purdue and director of MFRI.
"Students who are more engaged on campus tend to be more successful," said MacDermid Wadsworth. "In addition to providing a sense of community, these veteran organizations can also motivate their members to access the spectrum of services available to them, including financial aid, academic advising and student services."
On Sept. 18, a panel of industry, academic and peer judges evaluated proposals from across the state according to criteria that included quality of mission, clarity of initiatives and sustainability. The judges awarded top honors to proposals from student veterans' organizations at:
First place: Indiana University Southeast
Second place: Ivy Tech Community College-Wabash Valley
Third place: Indiana University Kokomo
Also receiving grants were the student veterans' organizations at:
Grace College and Theological Seminary
Indiana State University
Ivy Tech Community College-Lafayette
"The level of maturity and community commitment expressed in the proposals this fall is really impressive," said Stacie Hitt, director of Operation Diploma.
The first-place winner, IU Southeast, has an enrollment of nearly 200 student service members and veterans, half of whom are members of the student veterans' organization. Its winning plan proposes building relationships within the campus community and beyond, and includes plans to focus on education and outreach.
"They are meeting some unique needs of their region of the state," said Hitt. "Their proximity to Fort Knox puts them in a strategic position to expand collaboration beyond the campus."
Part of the IU Southeast proposal includes travel -- either to conferences specifically geared to student veterans' organizations or to Washington, D.C. -- to meet with congressional representatives, said Aaron Neely, president of the organization.
"This semester we want to spend time meeting our goals, especially in relationship to leadership development and education," Neely said. "The conferences or legislative meetings will help facilitate those goals."
To date, MFRI has awarded nearly $1.4 million through its Operation Diploma initiative. The total includes more than $30,000 awarded to student veterans' organizations and more than $1.3 million to Indiana's institutions of higher education and other public and private organizations working to support student service members, veterans and their families. The latter includes awards ranging from $15,000 to $100,000, which are being used to create new or enhance existing opportunities and programs for student service members, veterans and their families.
The Military Family Research Institute is a research and outreach organization based at Purdue University, supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., the Department of Defense, and others. Through MFRI, Operation Diploma was created.
To view top presentations by student veteran organizations, visit the MFRI online at https://www.mfri.purdue.edu and click on the Operation Diploma tab.
Contact:
Michael F. Marn, director of communications, Military Family Research Institute, 765-496-6027, mfmarn@purdue.edu