Southern Nazarene University announced the receipt of a $330,000 grant award to support student veteran success on campus. The grant will establish a Veterans Educational Transitions Success Center on the SNU Bethany campus, develop a veteran student support team across campus offices, and add a coordinator for the new program.

The VETS Center at SNU will serve as a single point of contact to coordinate veteran student support services on campus for both graduate and undergraduate students. Support services will assist veteran students in transitioning to campus life, including orientations, academic and career counseling, and connecting to community support.

The three-year Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) grant is funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. 

"SNU's longstanding commitment to serving military veterans will receive a welcome boost from the CEVSS grant,” said Loren Gresham, SNU president. “Our ability to serve more vets with enhanced services will result in higher achievement rates and better results after graduation in the workplace."

Out of 13 total grants nationwide, SNU was the only recipient in the state of Oklahoma and will house the only federally funded Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success in the state. SNU will contribute to the overall funding costs of this program ($39,000 or 9 percent, along with the federally-funded $330,000 or 91 percent).

SNU currently has more than 230 veteran students in traditional, graduate, and professional studies programs for adults. All of SNU’s educational programs are VA-approved. The university is a Post-911 G.I. Bill Yellow Ribbon Program participant and was named a 2015 Military Friendly School® by Victory Media. SNU accepts ACE credit for military training and experience, participates in the VA’s Principles of Excellence Program, and endorses the President’s 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success.

The university offers a course for both traditional students and working adults. The School of Professional Studies offers six bachelor’s and 11 master’s degree programs across areas such as business, network management, organizational leadership, family studies and gerontology, counseling, education, kinesiology, nursing, and theology.

--Southern Nazarene University