Arkansas Tech receives Veterans Upward Bound grant, $1.3 million over 5 years
by October 9, 2017 1:18 pm 335 views
Arkansas Tech University in Russellville has received a federal grant to increase resources for students who are military veterans.
The school will receive an anticipated $1.3 million over five years from Veterans Upward Bound, according to an ATU press release. The money is to be used to hire three full-time staff members to administer the program.
Veterans Upward Bound is a TRIO program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It will serve 125 military veterans each year at ATU’s main campus and its Ozark branch and is planned to start in the spring semester.
“This grant will continue to provide opportunities for veterans at Arkansas Tech,” said ATU alum and U.S. Congressman Steve Womack, according to the release. “I am excited and hopeful that it will motivate veterans to enroll in a postsecondary education program and give them the skills needed to graduate.” Womack retired from the Arkansas Army National Guard at the rank of colonel following more than 30 years of service.
Fewer than 60 universities were chosen nationwide for this grant cycle of Veterans Upward Bound, according to ATU.
According to the U.S. Department of Education website, Veterans Upward Bound is designed to “motivate and assist veterans in the development of academic and other requisite skills necessary for acceptance and success in a program of postsecondary education.”
“I want to congratulate Arkansas Tech for winning this award,” U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, who served as a U.S. Army infantry officer in Afghanistan and Iraq, said in the release. “It is well-deserved. Arkansas Tech has done so much to support our veterans, and I know these funds will help them expand their reach and allow more Arkansas veterans to pursue their education.”
Phillip Bridgmon, ATU associate vice president for academic affairs, serves as the lead administrator for the program at ATU.
It will be the fourth TRIO program at the university, joining the existing Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math and Science and Student Support Services programs, according to ATU.