Collegiate Purple Star continues Ohio’s commitment to military families | Opinion

In just a couple of weeks, dozens of Ohio colleges and universities are expected to receive the designation of Collegiate Purple Star Award campus, the first state in the nation with such designations in higher education. In 2017, Ohio became the first state to have K-12 schools as Purple Star Schools, and now 34 states have followed Ohio’s leadership.

DeWine joined me in March in announcing the award when he said, “We continue to develop ways for Ohio to become the best place for military members and their families to live, work and raise a family. Purple Star Schools are great examples of how Ohioans can come together to support, encourage and recognize the sacrifices our service men and women and their loved ones make.”

As chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, I was honored to sign the directive establishing the Collegiate Purple Star Award, following the DeWine administration’s significant resolve to make it possible. Colleges who receive the award must meet certain criteria establishing a military/veteran staff point of contact, priority support for transfer registration policies, promotion of military and veteran scholarship programs and other areas of support.

This program specifically supports “military-connected” students and families, including current military families with children in college and children of veterans who have served.

This isn’t the first time Ohio has supported men and women who wear our nation’s uniform and their families who also share in the sacrifice. Ohio’s National Guard Scholarship provides college tuition aid to guard members, and the War Orphan and Severely Disabled Veterans’ Children Scholarship, provides tuition assistance to eligible children of deceased or severely disabled Ohio veterans who served in the armed forces during a period of declared war or conflict. Students pursuing an associate degree or bachelor’s degree may qualify.

If any readers would like to learn more about the many ways Ohio supports our military and veteran families, or qualification information about these scholarship opportunities, you are welcome to contact me at [email protected].

Ohio Higher Education chancellor