Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus has received a $15,000 grant from Operation Diploma, an initiative of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University, to develop programs and policies designed to boost academic success of student service members and veterans on campus.
The funds will support a part-time coordinator for one year to head up a program whose goal is to support Army and National Guard soldiers in their educational pursuits. Retired veterans will be recruited to assist in this effort. Interested service personnel at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center will be involved. The educational program will be delivered both on campus and at the military bases.
The student population at the Patriot Academy, located at Muscatatuck, will also be served through this initiative. The Patriot Academy is a program wherein newly enlisted soldiers are given a chance to earn a high school diploma while in a military environment and receiving full-time military pay and benefits.
“With Camp Atterbury, the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, and the Patriot Academy all located near the two campuses of our region, we are experiencing growth in veteran and military populations from high-school-age individuals to retiring veterans. Through this initiative, the Columbus/Franklin region will strengthen the relationship with these populations to increase recruitment, retention, and graduation rates at all the facilities,” said Paul Johnston, Ivy Tech-Columbus Director of Financial Aid.
Launched with a $5.8 million gift from Lilly Endowment Inc., Operation Diploma empowers Indiana’s institutions of higher education to better serve student service members and veterans. In addition to Ivy Tech-Columbus, 12 additional Ivy Tech campuses, six Indiana University, two Purdue University, and seven other Indiana institutions of higher education received funding as part of this grant.