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Southern Miss Veterans Center Unveils Textbooks for Troops Program
As part of its continuing mission to make higher education accessible and affordable for military veterans, The University of Southern Mississippi is initiating a new program for the fall 2016 semester entitled: “Textbooks for Troops.”
Administered through the University’s Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families, the program is open to all military connected students, regardless of GI Educational Bill status. The program is designed to make available (at no cost on a loan basis) a variety of classroom textbooks and professional development books for student-veterans, service members, and military family members.
“We developed this program for the purpose of easing the financial burden on military students and at the same time provide them a service that assists in their pursuits of a professional future,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Hammond (U.S. Army, ret.), Director, Veterans and Military Affairs at Southern Miss.
Hammond notes that the program works and sustains itself by having qualified students check out their textbooks for an entire semester. The students must return the books to the Center so that books can continue to be loaned out to other students for the following semester. These textbooks are available for military students taking courses at any of the University’s teaching sites.
Returning students must have a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA to qualify. Freshmen and transfer students are exempt from this requirement. The Center will not reserve books for any student, nor can books be mailed. Students who do not return textbooks will be disqualified from participation in the program.
Hammond says public contributions can make an early impact on the “Textbooks for Troops” program and help ensure its success.
“We are eager to make this program successful and would gratefully appreciate the support of the local community in expanding our textbook library,” said Hammond. “This type of service is a perfect example of how we can give back to our military personnel who have sacrificed so much for our country.”
The mission of the Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families is to offer sustainable conditions for a “military-friendly” education support program that provides veterans, service members (active duty, Reserve Component and National Guard), dependents (family members) and survivors (VSDS) the opportunity to pursue a degree at Southern Miss. For more information about the center, call 601.264.4629 or visit: www.usm.edu/military-veterans
