Transition Assistance Program for returning service members and their families pursuant to the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act signed into law November 2011 and effective on November 21, 2012. While in D.C, Gross facilitated efforts addressing veteran success on America’s campuses. Upon her return to the SVC campus, she saw the potential for veterans to succeed at SVC through an expansion of the existing Pipeline Program that has met with remarkable success. Once matriculated, the SVC Veteran Scholars will receive ongoing mentoring and support from peers, faculty and staff throughout their college experience. Financial aid packaging beyond existing federal benefits will be provided to the Veteran Scholars, including through the Yellow Ribbon program in which SVC participates. Off-campus housing, suitable for non-traditional students and families, will be made available. SVC Assistant Dean Sara Patch, who will oversee the Veterans’ Scholar Program, stated, “The entire SVC community has rallied around our objective to bring the first veterans’ cohort to campus. We are deeply committed to their success both in the classroom and beyond.”
ALUMNI TO BE HONORED IN SVC BOOK SERIES Southern Vermont College alumni are doing important work throughout the United States in their chosen fields. President Karen Gross has announced a new SVC book series to celebrate their successes and capture their individual stories. This new initiative will begin with a digital book available online, as well as a limited number of hard-bound coffee table books. The series will highlight SVC alumni in a number of majors: nursing, criminal justice, business and the humanities. Each book will capture SVC alumni as leaders in their fields. The books will contain photo portraits of each person by SVC alumnus Max Flatow, Class of 2006. Accompanying the photo will be a story that captures their life post-graduation. Informal videos for the SVC Website will capture their feelings about their education. The first book will focus on nursing alumni. “The idea for the book series came to me as I was reviewing the inspiring and poignant book entitled The American Nurse by Carolyn Jones,” said President Gross. “I knew instantly that this would be a remarkable way to celebrate the work our alumni do as contributing members of their communities. “We chose nursing as our initial topic because of their role as unsung heroes in our healthcare system. SVC nurses are competent, caring practitioners who are shaping today’s healthcare.” Max Flatow’s work may be familiar as he has photographed SVC commencement for the last few years. Max worked alongside noted photographers Annie Liebovitz and Steven Klein as a set design assistant from 2002 to 2007 prior to beginning his own business. His amazing portraits and wedding photography can be seen at www.maxflatow.com.
President Gross meets with nursing students at the Healthcare Education Center. The Vermont State Board of Nursing recently provisionally approved the launch of SVC’s new 4-year degree program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. SVC and its various programs are currently accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.
The SVC Communications Office is currently working on a series of videos about the many different disciplines SVC has to offer. A new Criminal Justice video features stories from alumni Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette ’90 and Williamstown Police Chief Kyle Johnson ’03. There will be videos on Business, Nursing, Science and Technology, Humanities, Athletics and Student Life. Look for the Criminal Justice video on the Social Sciences page of the svc.edu website and on our Facebook pages.
SVC/SJC CHRONICLE
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