Ensuring a smooth transition from full-time solider to full-time student is the goal of new 
initiatives at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott. The campus recently created a Veteran’s Organization that offers a slate of services to veterans and their families.
“We began to see interest increasing when the Yellow Ribbon program was announced and knew this was our opportunity not only to provide the best education for our country’s former servicemen and women, but to go over and above in meeting their specialized needs,” said Dr. Frank Ayers, Executive Vice Prescient and Chief Academic Officer of Embry-Riddle in Prescott.
The recent surge in enrollment of veterans led the Prescott campus to ramp up services geared at this unique population. Currently 178 veterans using their benefits are students at Embry-Riddle, the vast majority of them here on the Post-911 G.I. Bill, or Yellow Ribbon program. The professional pilot degree program is the most popular with students flying both fixed-wing and helicopter. The Global Security and Intelligence Studies degree is a close second; however, there are veterans enrolled in nearly every one of the thirteen degree programs, said Dean of Student Affairs, Larry Stephan.
“I think the Yellow Ribbon program is a great opportunity for rewarding our young adults who have served our country and to help them prepare for a productive future,” Stephan said.
Veteran’s Coordinator Ret. Col. Fred Cone, a former Marine Corps pilot and combat veteran, who previously taught in aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle for 20 years, oversees the programs for veterans. In addition to their own lounge where they can meet up with other students like them, Col. Cone helps arrange tutoring sessions, special events such as a recent BBQ social for the students and their families, and a hiking club that meets on weekends.
The main focus of the Veteran’s Organization is to provide support to help servicemen and women adapt to university life and re-acclimate into the community around them. Cone also helps direct them to existing services in the community, such as the Veteran’s Upward Bound program that provides academic support and career counseling.
“They are very quick at adapting but need guidance. For many of them last formal education they had was high school,” Cone said. The veteran’s lounge is a popular place, Cone said, because, “It’s a place they can gather to talk and support each other. They like to come in and talk military-ese. It’s a place to communicate with other students like them.”
Embry-Riddle has received recognitions for it strength in programs that are particularly important to former military. Military Times Edge magazine (militarytimesedge.com) recently ranked Embry-Riddle third of 100 on its “Best for Vets” list of colleges for 2010.
The impact of the bolstered support for veterans shows in their success rate. The retention rate for t veterans is higher than the general campus population, and, as group, their GPA averages above the general student population.
“Some of these guys might have taken courses in the service, but many have been out of the learning environment for four or more years. Yet they have come back to school focused and do well,” said Stephan.
They also remain connected to their comrades on active duty. The Veteran’s Organization has spearheaded an ongoing effort to collect and send “care package” items to troops overseas, via a colleague, former flight department chair Army National Guard Col. Jerry Kidrick, who was called up to active duty last year. Col. Kidrick is facilitating distribution of donated items to a local orphanage and to the soldiers stationed with him in Basra Province, Iraq. Additionally, the organization is sponsoring a golf tournament and a run to raise funds for the Phoenix chapter of the Wounded Warrior Project (woundedwarriorproject.org), a national organization that provides support and recognition to injured soldiers.
The campus will sponsor a Veteran’s Appreciation Concern on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Activity Center, featuring the 108th Army Band. The concert is free and open to the public.
For more information on services available to veterans on the Prescott campus or to make a donation for any of the Veteran’s Organizations initiatives, please contact Col. Fred Cone, Veteran’s Coordinator, 928-777-6733
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates more than 34,000 students annually at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 170 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.
Media Contact
Susan Larsen
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
3700 Willow Creek Road
Prescott, AZ 86310
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
(928) 777-6731
susan.larsen@erau.edu
initiatives at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott. The campus recently created a Veteran’s Organization that offers a slate of services to veterans and their families.“We began to see interest increasing when the Yellow Ribbon program was announced and knew this was our opportunity not only to provide the best education for our country’s former servicemen and women, but to go over and above in meeting their specialized needs,” said Dr. Frank Ayers, Executive Vice Prescient and Chief Academic Officer of Embry-Riddle in Prescott.
The recent surge in enrollment of veterans led the Prescott campus to ramp up services geared at this unique population. Currently 178 veterans using their benefits are students at Embry-Riddle, the vast majority of them here on the Post-911 G.I. Bill, or Yellow Ribbon program. The professional pilot degree program is the most popular with students flying both fixed-wing and helicopter. The Global Security and Intelligence Studies degree is a close second; however, there are veterans enrolled in nearly every one of the thirteen degree programs, said Dean of Student Affairs, Larry Stephan.
“I think the Yellow Ribbon program is a great opportunity for rewarding our young adults who have served our country and to help them prepare for a productive future,” Stephan said.
Veteran’s Coordinator Ret. Col. Fred Cone, a former Marine Corps pilot and combat veteran, who previously taught in aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle for 20 years, oversees the programs for veterans. In addition to their own lounge where they can meet up with other students like them, Col. Cone helps arrange tutoring sessions, special events such as a recent BBQ social for the students and their families, and a hiking club that meets on weekends.
The main focus of the Veteran’s Organization is to provide support to help servicemen and women adapt to university life and re-acclimate into the community around them. Cone also helps direct them to existing services in the community, such as the Veteran’s Upward Bound program that provides academic support and career counseling.
“They are very quick at adapting but need guidance. For many of them last formal education they had was high school,” Cone said. The veteran’s lounge is a popular place, Cone said, because, “It’s a place they can gather to talk and support each other. They like to come in and talk military-ese. It’s a place to communicate with other students like them.”
Embry-Riddle has received recognitions for it strength in programs that are particularly important to former military. Military Times Edge magazine (militarytimesedge.com) recently ranked Embry-Riddle third of 100 on its “Best for Vets” list of colleges for 2010.
The impact of the bolstered support for veterans shows in their success rate. The retention rate for t veterans is higher than the general campus population, and, as group, their GPA averages above the general student population.
“Some of these guys might have taken courses in the service, but many have been out of the learning environment for four or more years. Yet they have come back to school focused and do well,” said Stephan.
They also remain connected to their comrades on active duty. The Veteran’s Organization has spearheaded an ongoing effort to collect and send “care package” items to troops overseas, via a colleague, former flight department chair Army National Guard Col. Jerry Kidrick, who was called up to active duty last year. Col. Kidrick is facilitating distribution of donated items to a local orphanage and to the soldiers stationed with him in Basra Province, Iraq. Additionally, the organization is sponsoring a golf tournament and a run to raise funds for the Phoenix chapter of the Wounded Warrior Project (woundedwarriorproject.org), a national organization that provides support and recognition to injured soldiers.
The campus will sponsor a Veteran’s Appreciation Concern on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Activity Center, featuring the 108th Army Band. The concert is free and open to the public.
For more information on services available to veterans on the Prescott campus or to make a donation for any of the Veteran’s Organizations initiatives, please contact Col. Fred Cone, Veteran’s Coordinator, 928-777-6733
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates more than 34,000 students annually at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 170 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.
Media Contact
Susan Larsen
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
3700 Willow Creek Road
Prescott, AZ 86310
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
(928) 777-6731
susan.larsen@erau.edu
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