WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Twenty-one higher education institutions in Indiana will receive grants to develop support programs and services for student service members and veterans.

Operation Diploma complements the national Yellow Ribbon program, through which higher education institutions address gaps between GI Bill funding and local tuition.

The grants were awarded through Operation Diploma, an initiative of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University that was launched through a $5.8 million gift from the Lilly Endowment Inc. Operation Diploma assists higher education institutions and student veterans’ organizations across Indiana to better serve student military service members, veterans entering college for the first time and those re-entering college after extended service and deployment.

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, a professor of child development and family studies at Purdue and director of the institute, said studies have shown that students who have served or are currently serving in the military sometimes feel frustrated, alone and misunderstood when they arrive on campus. These grants will help promote academic success by addressing barriers to higher education for the students.

“The goal of Operation Diploma is to engage institutions of higher learning in a dialogue about creating an environment in this state that is supportive of veterans’ and student service members’ transition from combat to the classroom,” she said. “The new GI bill, which went into effect Aug. 1, is expected to attract more veterans and student service members to campuses across the state and nation. This anticipated influx makes it even more imperative to address the growing needs of this student demographic.”

The Operation Diploma initiative also complements the national Yellow Ribbon program, through which higher education institutions address gaps between GI Bill funding and local tuition.

This is the first grant cycle, and a national review panel awarded more than $270,000 to the following institutions:

• Ball State University
• Harrison College
• Indiana State University
• Indiana University-Bloomington
• Indiana University-East
• Indiana University-Southeast
• Indiana Wesleyan
• Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
• Ivy Tech-Bloomington
• Ivy Tech-Central Indiana
• Ivy Tech-Kokomo
• Ivy Tech-Lafayette
• Ivy Tech-Richmond
• Purdue University-Columbus and Greensburg
• Purdue University-Calumet
• Purdue University-North Central
• Purdue University-West Lafayette
• St. Mary’s College
• St. Mary-of-the-Woods
• University of Evansville
• University of Indianapolis

“Some of these proposed projects also will extend beyond the institutions at which they are based. For example, one university plans to develop a Virtual Veterans’ Center with a benefits decision tree, available to veterans considering attending any Indiana college or university,” said Stacie Hitt, director of Operation Diploma. “Another university also proposes establishing a regional consortium of student veteran-friendly schools to provide more resources and social supports to students.”

More than 7,500 Indiana veterans used GI Bill education benefits in 2008, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Military Family Research Institute is a research and outreach organization based at Purdue. It’s primarily supported by the Lilly Endowment and the Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON, DC -– In just two year’s time, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative has supported more than $315 million in loans to more than 3,750 veterans and their spouses who are using the SBA-guaranteed funds to establish and expand their small businesses. As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which raised loan guarantees to 90 percent, and eliminated fees temporarily, the number of Patriot Express loans increased to record levels in April and May of 2009.

Patriot Express, launched June 28, 2007, builds on the more than $1 billion in loans SBA guarantees annually for veteran-owned businesses, and the counseling assistance and procurement support it provides each year to more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and Reserve members.

“This commitment to more than 25 million veterans across the country, and the thousands returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is something we at SBA take seriously,” SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills said. “The Patriot Express initiative, in conjunction with other SBA programs, goes directly to the needs of our veterans who want to start, or already have their own businesses. This critical access to capital helps them grow their businesses and create good paying jobs in their communities.”

Patriot Express is a streamlined loan product based on the agency’s highly successful SBA Express Program, but with an enhanced guaranty and interest rate. The Patriot Express loan is offered by SBA’s network of participating lenders nationwide and features one of SBA’s fastest turnaround times for loan approvals. Loans are available up to $500,000 and qualify for SBA’s maximum guaranty of up to 90 percent.

The Patriot Express loan can be used for most business purposes, including start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or business-occupied real-estate purchases. Local SBA district offices will have a listing of Patriot Express lenders in their areas. Details on the initiative can be found at www.sba.gov/patriotexpress

Interest rate maximums for Patriot Express loans are the same as those for regular 7(a) loans: a maximum of Prime + 2.25 percent for maturities under seven years; Prime + 2.75 percent for seven years or more. Interest rates can be higher by two percent for loans of $25,000 or less; and one percent for loans between $25,000 and $50,000.

Patriot Express is available to military community members including veterans, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program, Reservists and National Guard members, current spouses of any of the above, and the widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service, or of a service-connected disability.

Patriot Express loans have been approved in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam and generally range from $5,000 to $375,000 in individual loan amounts. The average loan amount is almost $85,000. Nearly 15 percent of those loans have gone to military spouses. After loan applications are approved by the bank, they are submitted to SBA for approval. Most applications are approved by SBA within 24 hours.

SBA has veterans’ business development officers in district offices in every state and territory able to provide military community members full access to the SBA’s range of programs and services. There are also eight Veterans Business Outreach Centers located in: Albany, N.Y; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Lynn Haven, Fla.; Edinburg, Texas; Sacramento, Calif.; St. Louis, Mo.; Boston, Mass.; and Flint, Mich.

In addition to district offices, SBA’s resource partners SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, Small Business Development Centers, and Women’s Business Centers provide local and online assistance with: writing a business plan, financing options to start or grow your business, managing the business, expanding the business and selling goods and services to the government.

For those who are already small business owners and who expect call-up, the SBA and its resource partners have expertise to assist with preparing their businesses before deployment, managing their businesses, selling goods and services to the government, obtaining other SBA financing and financial assistance, and obtaining loans for economic injury – Military Reserve Economic Injury Disaster Loans (MREIDL) – Loans of up to $2 million are available for small businesses sustaining economic injury because an owner or essential employee has been called to active duty as a military reservist.

The SBA and its Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) provides comprehensive assistance, outreach and support to veterans. Each year the SBA assists more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and reservists. Go to www.sba.gov/vets.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A tour of the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine and the Armstrong Hall of Engineering will be part of what has become an annual event for World War II veterans of the U.S. Army’s 250th Field Artillery Battalion.

Seven veterans who served under Gen. George Patton and were attached to one of the first units to liberate prisoners of war at Dachau concentration camp in Germany will be meeting for a reunion this weekend in the Lafayette area. It will mark the first time the annual reunion has been held north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The reunion will be the 26th for the battalion since it first held a reunion in 1964.

At the request of one battalion member, retired veterinarian Dr. Bob Weaver, veterans and their spouses will tour the School of Veterinary Medicine. Purdue’s George Moore, a retired Army veterinarian, will lead the tour.

“I’m honored to be asked to lead a tour for veterans from all over the country who were part of what Tom Brokaw described as ‘’the greatest generation,’” Moore said.

Ruby Gwin of Linden, Ind., whose husband Carl served as a medic in the battalion, has authored a book about its men, “The 250th Field Artillery Men Remember World War II.” The book will be published later this year. The Gwins’ son Wil is a pharmacist in the school’s teaching hospitals.

WASHINGTON, DC — In just under a year’s time, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative approved more than $150 million in loan guarantees to nearly 1,500 veterans and their spouses who are using the SBA-guaranteed funds to establish and expand their small businesses.

Patriot Express, launched last June 28, builds on the more than $1 billion in loans SBA guarantees annually for veteran-owned businesses, and the counseling assistance and procurement support it provides each year to more than 100,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and Reserve members.

“With the patriotic remembrances of Flag Day, June 14, comes the reminder that the SBA is committed to helping America’s service men and women during the continuing War on Terror,” SBA Acting Administrator Jovita Carranza said. “We believe that Patriot Express, supported by SBA’s other services, goes directly to the needs of these American Patriots who wish to start businesses, and in the process encourages job creation and growth, an essential part of the President’s economic agenda.”

Patriot Express is a streamlined loan product based on the agency’s highly successful SBA Express Program, but with enhanced guaranty and interest rate characteristics. The Patriot Express loan is offered by SBA’s network of participating lenders nationwide and features SBA’s fastest turnaround time for loan approvals. Loans are available up to $500,000 and qualify for SBA’s maximum guaranty of up to 85 percent for loans of $150,000 or less and up to 75 percent for loans over $150,000 up to $500,000. For loans above $350,000, lenders are required to take all available collateral.

The Patriot Express loan can be used for most business purposes, including start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or business-occupied real-estate purchases.
Patriot Express loans feature SBA’s lowest interest rates for business loans, generally 2.25 percent to 4.75 percent over prime depending upon the size and maturity of the loan. Local SBA district offices will have a listing of Patriot Express lenders in their areas. Details on the initiative can be found at www.sba.gov/patriotexpress

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