SWU to create grant-funded center for Veteran Student Success
The Warriors CARE Center at Southern Wesleyan University will serve those who have served
CENTRAL, S.C. – Southern Wesleyan University leads Wesleyan higher education in finding opportunities to recognize those who have served or are continuing to serve in the military. Southern Wesleyan University (SWU) has been named a Top Military Friendly School for three years in a row (2018-2021). Southern Wesleyan University offers tuition discounts to active service members and their spouses, and honors discount programs such as the GI Bill and disabled veteran benefits. The university is also proud to offer the Yellow Ribbon Scholarship Program to qualifying veterans.
Now the institution will be even more prepared to serve this important population of students. With the assistance of a recently awarded grant, SWU will be creating the Warriors Courage, Success, Respect, and Empowerment (CARE) Center to help address veteran students’ academic, financial, physical, and social needs. The U.S. Department of Education’s Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success program grant funding will support the new veterans’ center that will be located on the main floor of the Stuart-Bennett building. Renovations are scheduled to begin soon, with a summer completion date and an official grand opening expected in Fall 2021. In addition to this new center, SWU will establish a Veteran Student Success Committee and hire a coordinator to oversee the center. Dr. April White Pugh, Provost, and writer of the grant, shared, “the funding from the U.S. Department of Education will provide a level of support that will aid us in better serving our active military and veteran students. I’m excited about all of the possibilities that will become realities as a result of this grant funding.”
For the last three academic years, SWU’s graduating class has consisted of at least 7% military students, with an expected 100% increase in 2020 at the graduate level compared to the prior year. In addition to the benefits provided to military and veteran students, SWU also honors and recognizes military service members and veterans in many ways, including:
• the SWU Military Monument at the main entrance of the campus;
• recognizing each graduating veteran with a red, white, and blue tassel;
• Men’s Baseball Team’s annual Veterans Appreciation Day, donating funds to the Upstate Warrior Solution;
• Annual Military Appreciation Luncheon each Veterans’ Day week;
• special chapel events where the student body is encouraged to learn about and honor the sacrificial service of our veterans;
• Wreaths Across America Day each December honoring veterans buried at SWU’s historic Pickens Cemetery;
• The University Singers Operation Freedom’s Cadence, a touring student ministry that performs for and ministers to on-base active military members
Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused, faith-filled community that offers inventive learning experiences. The university endeavors to prepare its students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ. For details about degree programs, go online to swu.edu.
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