University of Idaho Press Release
January 14, 2008
Nation's First Scholarship Program for Wounded Veterans Honored by American Legionby Joni Kirk, University Communications
MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho's Operation Education Scholarship Program, the only all-encompassing scholarship program in the U.S. for disabled veterans, has been awarded a national citation by the American Legion.
University President Tim White accepted the award Sunday from the American Legion's Idaho Department Commander Joe Foruria.
"Support of veterans with disability is a value strongly held by the University of Idaho community, and we are grateful for this recognition from the American Legion," said White. "We truly aspire to be leaders in our state, our nation and in the world and it's humbling to have this affirmation for an important aspect of our legacy of leadership."
"The University of Idaho was selected by the economics committee for helping Idaho’s veterans," said Rickey Helsley, department adjutant for the American Legion Department of Idaho.
Operation Education is a comprehensive, individualized scholarship program created by the University of Idaho to provide financial, academic and social support to veterans, and/or their spouses, who were seriously disabled while on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. The scholarship enhances the Montgomery G.I. bill, which currently provides veterans with $1,075 a month for a maximum of 36 months to cover education expenses. Additional expenses incurred while pursuing an education can cripple young veterans and their families, particularly if the veteran is disabled.
The scholarship program provides veterans with financial and social support and resources – such as tuition, fees and books, on-campus housing, transportation, medical assistance, child care, adaptive equipment, tutoring and mentorship – while pursuing a college degree at the university's main campus in Moscow. The program also is designed to assist veterans and their families as they seek to enhance their future through higher education. The program is the first of its kind in the nation.
"Being the first to offer such a program also implies a good deal of responsibility to continue to demonstrate leadership and set a standard of excellence, which is the challenge embodied in this wonderful recognition," said White. "We must continue to lead and constantly create great opportunities for students from all walks of life."
The University of Idaho hopes to see the program expanded to each state and has created a blueprint of the program that other institutions of higher learning may utilize. For more information about Operation Education, visit www.uidaho.edu/operationeducation.
The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans organization. A community-service organization, it now numbers nearly 3 million members worldwide. The American Legion's national headquarters is in Indianapolis, Ind., with offices in Washington, D.C. In addition to thousands of volunteers serving in leadership and program implementation capacities in local communities to the Legion's standing national commissions and committees, the national organization has a regular full-time staff of about 300 employees. For more information, visit www.legion.org.
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