SU Named 2012 Military Friendly School

SALISBURY, MD---For the third consecutive year, Salisbury University has been named a 2012 Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs magazine.  Honored among the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide, SU will be included in the annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools, published in October. 

The guide is designed to help students who are enlisted or who are veterans determine what schools will welcome them and provide the greatest value.  According to G.I. Jobs, the schools included “are making the grade” by offering services including veteran’s clubs and full-time staff support to students who served.  For the first time, feedback from a survey of student veterans from thousands of schools nationwide was incorporated into the list.

Currently some eight million troops and veterans are eligible for G.I. Bill benefits.  At SU, some 140 students use Veteran’s Affairs educational benefits.

Junior Robert Landolt, an education major, is one two students who work nearly full-time alongside Elizabeth Iannelli, the Veteran’s Affairs liaison in SU’s Registrar’s Office.  Together, they help former and current service members navigate processes related to such benefits. 

A Delaware native who served over six years of active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard, Landolt said “the current incarnation of the G.I. Bill was too good to pass up” and he “came to SU because it has a good reputation.”  He now spearheads the campus’ Student Military and Veterans Association.

SU participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, an optional component of the new Post-9/11 G.I. Bill for veterans.  Through this supplemental program, universities pay up to half the difference in tuition beyond the amount covered by the federal government. The bill adds a $1,000 stipend for books and provides more than $1,300 a month for housing for up to 36 months.

For SU students interested in entering the military, the campus brought back its Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program in fall 2008.  There was a student-driven demand for its re-establishment and the program has been thriving. 

For the complete list Military Friendly Schools visit www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/2012list. For more information on G.I. Bill benefits, visit www.gibill.va.gov.  For details about veteran affairs at SU, call 410-677-5388 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu/veterans.