NPC hears update on Veterans Center
Nathan Looper, National Park College’s veteran affairs coordinator and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, gave an update on the Veterans Center that opened last November during the college’s monthly board meeting on Wednesday.
“Over the past year, we’ve served over 145 different students who took advantage of their VA benefits. (There are) 105 veterans (and) 40 dependent students currently this semester, we have 86, using their VA educational
benefits,” Looper said.
The college has received over $100,000 in tuition payments via VA educational assistance and graduated or awarded certificates to over 20 students due to generous donors, he said.
“The military scholarship has provided money for students that didn’t have their tuition or fees completely covered, which is why a lot of students continue to go to school here debt-free,” Looper said.
Through the VA work-study program, the college has been able to employ over 11 students in the VA center who assist current students and new students to get acquainted with campus.
“This year, ( we are) happy to announce we’ve established the first- ever veteran student organization at college and are currently taking nominations for officers,” Looper said.
In other business, there was a motion to approve the naming of the pavilion area outside the Student Commons building to the Ray and Willodene Donathan Pavilion.
“Mr. Donovan was a proud and faithful servant of NPC and did everything in his power to see that National Park College succeeded. Student success was his one true mission and is something that the college strives to do daily as our mission. The Donathan family would like to see Mr. Martin’s memory continue and honor their mother by naming the Ray and Willodene Donovan Pavilion,” Nicole Herndon, executive director of the NPC Foundation, said.
The board also had a motion to approve the deletion of policy 4.410, which is the college’s voluntary early retirement plan. The board merged this policy with its definition of retirement in September.