Federal pilot program would fund college vets centers
A Center of Excellence for Veterans Success could be coming to a college campus near you.
The FY 2010 budget bill includes $6 million for the Department of Education to fund a 2010 pilot project that would award federal grants to colleges and universities for establishment of the centers, according to AMVETS.
“These centers will provide a critical one-stop shop for student-veterans, offering all the necessary tools to succeed in academic life,” said AMVETS national legislative director Ray Kelley.
Veterans groups say such centers would be an important resource for schools and student veterans, especially in light of the increasing numbers of vets taking advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the problems caused by that overwhelming response.
AMVETS, which lobbied for the centers for excellence, works with Cleveland State University Professor John Schupp, founder of the Supportive Education for the Returning Veteran (SERV) program, as a model for campuses to meet the needs of their student-veterans.
I had the opportunity to speak with Schupp back in March for a story about veterans making the transition from combat to college. I was impressed then with SERV, a program with a highly personalized approach to helping student veterans, sans the bureaucracy, confusion and condescension that often greet this population when they arrive on campus. Other campuses would do well to mirror the success of Schupp’s project when establishing veterans’ centers of their own.
Once the Education Department clarifies the grant process, AMVETS plans to work closely with campuses to acquire funding and establish quality student-veterans’ centers.
