Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Military from all of the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s campuses will be welcomed by the university and local military leaders at the annual Veterans Welcome Reception 3 - 6 p.m., TODAY, Friday, Aug. 21 in the Burney Center.

Because veterans can be isolated from their often younger college peers, the reception is designed to help military students and their spouses develop connections with UNC Wilmington and one another. The event is sponsored by the UNCW Military Advisory Board and Student Veterans Organization.

UNCW was recently named by G.I. Jobs to its 2010 list of Military Friendly Schools. This list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are "doing the most to embrace America's veterans as students," according to the magazine. Rich McCormack, G.I. Jobs publisher, noted that with the recent passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, veterans have virtually unlimited financial means to go to school.

UNCW is preparing for the anticipated influx of more than 11,000 marines and their families in the coming years to Southeastern North Carolina. Last spring, 128 students graduated through the UNCW Onslow Extension Program, which offers a variety of degrees. Extension program students, most veterans or military dependents, take UNCW classes taught by UNCW professors at locations near and on military bases in the Onslow County area.

Media contact:
Joy Davis, UNCW Marketing and Communications, 910.916.8603 or davisjc@uncw.edu