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2009-06-21 BACK
The Importance of Being "GI Friendly"
The Importance of Being "GI Friendly" This article originally appeared in the Texarkana Gazette on June 21, 2009 Dr. Ed Bashaw, Dean, Texas A&M-Texarkana, College of Business President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly called the GI Bill. This "GI Friendly" landmark legislation provided World War II veterans with college or vocational education, employment benefits, and favorable home loans. Reports show that 7.8 million World War II veterans used the education/training benefits and 2.4 million took out home loans from the Veterans Administration. Participating veterans swelled the ranks of higher education and homeowners, contributed to the post-World War II economic boom, and gave us the world's best labor force and consumer market. The numbers and statistics from participation in the GI Bill of 1944 are surely impressive. However, a personal story can add context to impersonal statistics. I recently learned how one man benefitted from the GI Bill when our family was in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. We were there, in part, as an excuse to go to one of our family's favorite cities because my son would be working as an intern for Congressman Ralph Hall. This story is Congressman Hall's own story told to my family while on our recent visit to his office. Most of us know Congressman Hall has represented the Fourth District of Texas since 1980. Fewer know his personal history and how, through a "GI Friendly" administrator, Ralph Hall was able to complete his college degree and go on to law school. In his own indomitable story-telling style, Congressman Hall explained to me, my wife, and daughter how "lucky" he was to have been able to complete college and law school. After his service to our country during World War II, Mr. Hall returned to his hometown of Rockwall, TX. He had been a lieutenant in the Navy (1942 - 1945) serving as an aircraft carrier pilot. His official Congressional bio doesn't cover what he did immediately after the war and skips forward to 1946 where Mr. Hall was a student at the University of Texas, Austin. Congressman Hall told us what happened during the intervening time after the war, when he completed his military service, and before he began his time at UT-Austin. In 1945 and 1946 Mr. Hall worked on his family's farm, as he says, seven days a week trying to create a life (and a living) for he and his wife Mary Ellen. As Congressman Hall tells it, Mary Ellen came to him with information about the GI Bill and its education benefits. She said she could learn shorthand and get a job as a "stenographer" (that is what a secretary who knew shorthand was called in that day) to support them if Mr. Hall would go back to school. She convinced Mr. Hall that taking advantage of the GI Bill and going back to school would be best for them. This is where the "GI Friendly" administrator enters. Mr. Hall decided he wanted to be a lawyer and go to SMU's law school. So he and Mrs. Hall made a visit to Dallas to talk to one of the admission's administrators at the SMU Law School. The administrator welcomed the Hall's and asked Mr. Hall where he finished his undergraduate degree. Mr. Hall proudly said, "Rockwall High School." Once the administrator cleared up this misunderstanding and let Mr. Hall know he meant "college degree" because law school students must have a college degree to enter law school, Mr. Hall's heart sank. I'm sure many stories would have ended differently than Mr. Hall's as the administrator could have been dismissive of the would-be law school candidate and sent him away with little more than a "good-bye and good luck" send off. However, this "GI Friendly" administrator didn't do that. Instead, he asked Mr. Hall what he had done since high school while serving in the Navy. Unbeknownst to Mr. Hall, this opened up the possibility of using much of his education and military training towards an undergraduate degree. He told the administrator about his time at TCU and the extensive training he received as an aircraft carrier pilot. To make a long story short, Mr. Hall ultimately ended up needing only, as he stated, "about three semesters" to complete his undergraduate degree. That's where we pick up with Congressman Hall's official bio (www.house.gov.ralphhall/bio) that states he attended the University of Texas, Austin from 1946ᇃ. As Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story." Our College of Business at Texas A&M University-Texarkana understands the importance of being "GI Friendly". We have a long-held partnership with our local Red River Army Depot (RRAD). Through this partnership, Texarkana and TAMUT benefit from receiving 70 to 100 top notch students from all over the country who move here to finish a Master's degree in business in 13 months while taking specialized logistics and supply chain management courses (among several others) from RRAD faculty. They are able to finish this intensive program, in part, because previous "GI Friendly" administrations counted a portion of the credit received at RRAD towards their degree requirements. This was done through the affirmation and accreditation of these courses by the American Council on Education (ACE). Our own Economics and Management Professor, Dr. Larry Davis, has worked tirelessly with this organization for many years and played a role in getting this on-going RRAD program partnered with the A&M-Texarkana College of Business. Today, A&M-Texarkana is seeking to be "GI Friendly" in a new and broader way. We are completing our response to the newly enacted Post 9/11 GI Bill, passed in summer 2008. This bill expands the benefits for military veterans who have served since September 11, 2001. Benefits are set to begin in this August and will allow qualifying veterans the full cost of any public college in their state, plus a housing allowance and book stipend. For more information, visit www.gibill.va.gov AND contact Keri Murrell at Keri.Murrell@tamut.edu or 903.223.3180.
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The Importance of Being "GI Friendly"
The Importance of Being "GI Friendly" This article originally appeared in the Texarkana Gazette on June 21, 2009 Dr. Ed Bashaw, Dean, Texas A&M-Texarkana, College of Business President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly called the GI Bill. This "GI Friendly" landmark legislation provided World War II veterans with college or vocational education, employment benefits, and favorable home loans. Reports show that 7.8 million World War II veterans used the education/training benefits and 2.4 million took out home loans from the Veterans Administration. Participating veterans swelled the ranks of higher education and homeowners, contributed to the post-World War II economic boom, and gave us the world's best labor force and consumer market. The numbers and statistics from participation in the GI Bill of 1944 are surely impressive. However, a personal story can add context to impersonal statistics. I recently learned how one man benefitted from the GI Bill when our family was in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. We were there, in part, as an excuse to go to one of our family's favorite cities because my son would be working as an intern for Congressman Ralph Hall. This story is Congressman Hall's own story told to my family while on our recent visit to his office. Most of us know Congressman Hall has represented the Fourth District of Texas since 1980. Fewer know his personal history and how, through a "GI Friendly" administrator, Ralph Hall was able to complete his college degree and go on to law school. In his own indomitable story-telling style, Congressman Hall explained to me, my wife, and daughter how "lucky" he was to have been able to complete college and law school. After his service to our country during World War II, Mr. Hall returned to his hometown of Rockwall, TX. He had been a lieutenant in the Navy (1942 - 1945) serving as an aircraft carrier pilot. His official Congressional bio doesn't cover what he did immediately after the war and skips forward to 1946 where Mr. Hall was a student at the University of Texas, Austin. Congressman Hall told us what happened during the intervening time after the war, when he completed his military service, and before he began his time at UT-Austin. In 1945 and 1946 Mr. Hall worked on his family's farm, as he says, seven days a week trying to create a life (and a living) for he and his wife Mary Ellen. As Congressman Hall tells it, Mary Ellen came to him with information about the GI Bill and its education benefits. She said she could learn shorthand and get a job as a "stenographer" (that is what a secretary who knew shorthand was called in that day) to support them if Mr. Hall would go back to school. She convinced Mr. Hall that taking advantage of the GI Bill and going back to school would be best for them. This is where the "GI Friendly" administrator enters. Mr. Hall decided he wanted to be a lawyer and go to SMU's law school. So he and Mrs. Hall made a visit to Dallas to talk to one of the admission's administrators at the SMU Law School. The administrator welcomed the Hall's and asked Mr. Hall where he finished his undergraduate degree. Mr. Hall proudly said, "Rockwall High School." Once the administrator cleared up this misunderstanding and let Mr. Hall know he meant "college degree" because law school students must have a college degree to enter law school, Mr. Hall's heart sank. I'm sure many stories would have ended differently than Mr. Hall's as the administrator could have been dismissive of the would-be law school candidate and sent him away with little more than a "good-bye and good luck" send off. However, this "GI Friendly" administrator didn't do that. Instead, he asked Mr. Hall what he had done since high school while serving in the Navy. Unbeknownst to Mr. Hall, this opened up the possibility of using much of his education and military training towards an undergraduate degree. He told the administrator about his time at TCU and the extensive training he received as an aircraft carrier pilot. To make a long story short, Mr. Hall ultimately ended up needing only, as he stated, "about three semesters" to complete his undergraduate degree. That's where we pick up with Congressman Hall's official bio (www.house.gov.ralphhall/bio) that states he attended the University of Texas, Austin from 1946ᇃ. As Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story." Our College of Business at Texas A&M University-Texarkana understands the importance of being "GI Friendly". We have a long-held partnership with our local Red River Army Depot (RRAD). Through this partnership, Texarkana and TAMUT benefit from receiving 70 to 100 top notch students from all over the country who move here to finish a Master's degree in business in 13 months while taking specialized logistics and supply chain management courses (among several others) from RRAD faculty. They are able to finish this intensive program, in part, because previous "GI Friendly" administrations counted a portion of the credit received at RRAD towards their degree requirements. This was done through the affirmation and accreditation of these courses by the American Council on Education (ACE). Our own Economics and Management Professor, Dr. Larry Davis, has worked tirelessly with this organization for many years and played a role in getting this on-going RRAD program partnered with the A&M-Texarkana College of Business. Today, A&M-Texarkana is seeking to be "GI Friendly" in a new and broader way. We are completing our response to the newly enacted Post 9/11 GI Bill, passed in summer 2008. This bill expands the benefits for military veterans who have served since September 11, 2001. Benefits are set to begin in this August and will allow qualifying veterans the full cost of any public college in their state, plus a housing allowance and book stipend. For more information, visit www.gibill.va.gov AND contact Keri Murrell at Keri.Murrell@tamut.edu or 903.223.3180.
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