Troy, AUSA Sponsoring Fort Rucker Scholarships
Troy University and the Association of the U.S. Army’s Wiregrass Chapter by the end of July will award full graduate-level scholarships to two Fort Rucker noncommissioned officers (NCOs) for the fall 2009 semester at Troy’s Dothan, Ala., campus.
The scholarships, which were announced in mid-April, will cover all books, tuition and fees. Troy and AUSA’s Wiregrass Chapter said they created the scholarships in recognition of the U.S. Army’s designation of 2009 as the “Year of the NCO.” Troy has provided extension services for Fort Rucker since the 1950s.
For more information, visit www.wiregrassausa.org.
U.S. Schools to Receive $2 Million in Grants
The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Wal-Mart Foundation in late April awarded $2 million in grants to 20 U.S. schools in recognition of their success in improving access to higher education for veterans and their families. The grants are to be used for online orientation programs, expansion of on-campus service centers, improved recruitment of veterans as students and increased counseling and psychological services. Close to 250 institutions applied for the grants.
The schools that each received $100,000 grants are:
• California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• California State University, Sacramento
• Clackamas Community College, Ore.
• Colorado State University
• Empire State College, SUNY
• Fairleigh Dickinson University, N.J.
• Fresno City College, Calif.
• George Mason University, Va.
• Hunter College School of Social Work, CUNY
• Lane Community College, Ore.
• Los Angeles City College
• Madison Area Technical College, Wis.
• Onondaga Community College, N.Y.
• Park University, Mo.
• Ramapo College, N.J.
• Southwestern College, Calif.
• Trident Technical College, S.C.
• University of California, Santa Cruz
• University of Maine, Augusta
• University of Maryland, University College
Montana Nonprofit Funds Kids’ Education
The nonprofit Grateful Nation launched a new fundraising drive to provide scholarships to the children of Montana servicemembers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program, which was created in 2007 by a University of Montana graduate and a New York attorney, provides scholarships for any school in the Montana university system and is intended to serve as a model for other U.S. states. More information about the program may be found at www.gratefulnationmontana.com.
Economy’s Woes Lead to MCCC Cancellation
Organizers of the annual Marine Corps Celebrity Classic (MCCC) golf tournament in Jacksonville, N.C., canceled the event this year for lack of corporate sponsorship.
The five-year-old annual event, which was to have been held in June, donates proceeds to the United Service Organizations for, among other things, funding college tuition for the children of military servicemembers. “Unfortunately, with the decline of the national economy came a decline in corporate sponsorship for many celebrity golf events, including the MCCC,” the MCCC announced on its Website. “We will keep an eye to the future in hopes that the economic base of our event will return to its former strength.”
Sports, entertainment and political celebrities who played in past tournaments include John Daly, Spud Webb, Maury Povich, Joe Theismann and Dan Quayle.
UM Creates Pat Tillman Scholarship
The Pat Tillman Foundation awarded the University of Maryland $100,000 to establish scholarships covering tuition, fees, books, and room and board for veteran and active servicemembers and their families, UM announced.
The Leadership Through Action Tillman Military Scholarships, as they are called, will also include child care expenses, among other needs not ordinarily addressed by scholarships. More information about the scholarships may be found online at www.stamp.umd.edu/tillman. ♦