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| COLLEGE RECEIVES ACE/WAL-MART FOUNDATION GRANT FOR VETERANS |
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Empire State College Receives $100,000 ACE/Wal-Mart Foundation Success for Veterans Award Grant
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – (April 23, 2009) – Empire State College, State University of New York, has been chosen as one of only 20 recipients nationwide of a $100,000 American Council on Education (ACE) and Wal-Mart Foundation Success for Veterans Award Grant. The grants, totaling $2 million, were awarded to colleges and universities that operate model programs advancing access and success in higher education for veterans and their families.
“Empire State College is honored to receive this grant, and it will go a long way in helping us provide the right services and programs for our veterans,” said Alan Davis, president of the college. “It will inspire us to do our very best to help our veterans achieve success, and to share what we’ll learn with others.”
The grant will help expand and enhance the college’s educational support services for veterans, and improve training of faculty and staff to create awareness of the challenges faced by veterans pursuing a college education.
"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.”
Empire State College has nearly 500 veterans currently enrolled either online or at one of its 35 locations across New York.
“The funding will allow us to expand current services and increase institutional awareness for the benefit of a very deserving population,” said Linda Frank, director of Empire State College’s Office of Veteran and Military Education. She will co-administer the grant with Kelly Hermann, the college’s statewide coordinator of disability services.
Hermann said the grant provides the college with an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the unique needs of veterans as adult learners, including those returning with disabilities due to their combat experience, as they transition to college.
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 semifinalists were selected and reviewed by a panel of judges comprising 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.
Over the past year, the Wal-Mart Foundation awarded more than $3.6 million in grants to organizations in support of programs that provide educational assistance for veterans. “The 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,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation.
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.
Empire State College offers motivated adults the opportunity to earn associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Through a combination of face-to-face meetings with faculty, courses and small study groups, students can learn anytime and anywhere. They also earn credit for college-level learning from work and life. The college serves more than 18,000 students at 35 locations across New York state and through its Center for Distance Learning. For more information on Empire State College, visit www.esc.edu.
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