In recognition of its efforts to help student veterans succeed, Concordia University Wisconsin has been named a Top Ten Military Friendly® School by the website MilitaryFriendly.com, ranking first in the nation among peer institutions: Private Schools Offering Doctorate.
Better than ever
The honor is CUW’s highest ever from the organization. It comes after CUW was ranked eighth last year and earned a silver ranking in 2021. Now in its 22nd year, the Military Friendly Schools list is considered one of the premier nationwide rankings that veterans and their families look to when considering higher education, according to Keith Casey, director of CUW Veteran Services.
Casey said ranking No. 1 in the nation this year is a testament to a “huge team effort” at Concordia University to provide support and resources to student veterans.
“There are so many gems on our campus—so many people and programs doing incredible things,” Casey said. “Once we connect students with these resources, and they utilize them, we see success.”
CUW Veteran Services offers multiple ways to help student veterans succeed. Among them are a veteran mentor program; emergency transition services, including assistance with housing, childcare and food security; and free tutoring and advising.
“CUW’s Veterans team would like to express our gratitude to the CUW faculty and staff for their support and dedication in assisting our VA students and dependents to succeed with their educational goals,” added Barb Ellmaker, VA Certifying Official for CUW Veteran Services.
New and improved spaces
In August, CUW celebrated the opening of its new Howard J. Bogenschild Veteran and Military Affiliated Resource Center in Rincker Hall. The new facility is more than three times as large as the previous location and provides dedicated space in the heart of the Concordia University campus along with trained staff to help veteran students.
Casey called the new space a “huge commitment” from CUW. The Howard J. Bogenschild Veteran and Military Affiliated Resource Center was made possible through many private donations.
“Here at CUW you see the words ‘military friendly’ put into action through the allocation of resources and prioritization of services to help student veterans succeed,” Casey said. “We are grateful to the university and private donors for the new Howard J. Bogenschild Veteran and Military Affiliated Resource Center and for seeing this service to student veterans as valuable and important.”
Casey added that the team at CUW is excited about its work with student veterans, and the ranking from MilitaryFriendly.com is a great way to bring attention to that work.
“We hope folks see this as an opportunity to come here and be part of our community,” he said.
About Military Friendly® Schools
The Military Friendly Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly® Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
Want in?
Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is a Lutheran institution that is proud to be Military Friendly. You can be assured that we are committed to providing first class service to support our Active, Reserve, and Veteran personnel and their families. CUW has been serving the needs of students since 1881 as a Lutheran higher education community committed to helping students develop in mind, body, and spirit. Concordia is nationally recognized and fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission-North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.