Temple University has been named one of U.S.News & World Report’s “Best Colleges for Veterans.” The magazine’s inaugural list comprises "top-ranked schools [that] offer benefits to veterans and active service members that can help them pursue a college education.”
Temple was one of only 52 national universities to make that list. To qualify, institutions had to be ranked among U.S. News’ “Best Colleges”; members of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Consortium; certified for the G.I. Bill; and participants in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a federal program that helps fund college tuition and fees for post-9/11 veterans. Each university on the “Best Colleges for Veterans” list was ranked according to its U.S. News “Best Colleges” ranking (2014 edition), with Temple tied for No. 24.
“I think it’s phenomenal,” said sophomore Silas Adams, an active-duty Marine from 2004 to 2012 who serves as president of the Temple Veterans Association (TVA). “It lets us know we’re doing something right. A lot of veterans will gravitate to Temple because of this ranking and all the things we’ve worked for to assist veterans in recent years.”
The ranking caps a three-year period of expansion of veterans programs at Temple, beginning in 2010 when Temple became a participant in the Yellow Ribbon Program; established the University Veterans Task Force; created the Temple University Veteran Affairs office; appointed Laura Reddick as associate director for adult and veteran student recruitment and Lori Thompson as veterans certifying officer; established the TVA; and earned its first-ever “Military Friendly Schools” designation from G.I. Jobs magazine (a distinction the university has earned each year since).
“A lot of veterans will gravitate to Temple because of this ranking and all the things we’ve worked for to assist veterans in recent years.” – Silas Adams, president, Temple Veterans Association
Temple’s investment in veterans support has been matched by explosive growth in veteran enrollment. Since 2010, the number of student veterans at Temple has increased from fewer than 200 to nearly 700 in 2013.
“We’ve come a long way in only a few years, but we’re not stopping there,” said William Parshall, executive director of Temple’s Ambler and Center City campuses. “Our next goals include the development of a veterans success center on Main Campus and expanding our efforts to serve the families of veterans.”