Marietta College has received Ohio’s Collegiate Purple Star designation for its support for veteran and military students, Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) Chancellor Randy Gardner announced today.
“With May being Military Appreciation Month, it’s an appropriate time to honor our military for all they do and to recognize the colleges and universities that support military-connected students and families,” Chancellor Gardner said.
During the past year, Jason Nulton, Marietta College’s Community Engagement Coordinator, has worked tirelessly to establish veteran programming on campus and improve the experience for students with military backgrounds.
“This was a team effort from the start. As soon as we began work on Purple Star, everyone jumped in feet first — Admission, the Registrar’s Office, Communication and Brand Management, the McDonough Leadership faculty, the administration, and many others,” said Nulton, who is a retired Lieutenant Colonel and logistics officer who served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force. “I am VERY proud of our Marietta College team! It is by far the best one I’ve been a part of in over a decade.”
Working with other veterans, Nulton has helped create a chapter of the Student Veterans of America (SVA) and worked with the College’s Advancement team to raise money on the Day of Giving that funded the Veteran and Military Student Center in the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business.
Nulton has also been instrumental in working with Air Force faculty at Ohio University to establish an agreement that allows Marietta students to attend Air Force or Space Force ROTC on the OU campus in Athens. Details are still in work, but the program is expected to be available to our students by Fall 2023.
“We are fortunate to have faculty and staff committed to providing a caring and welcoming experience for students who previously served in the military and for students whose families served,” said Marietta President Bill Ruud. “This designation by the State of Ohio is a tribute to the determined commitment of our community to serving the educational needs of the men and women who have served in the U.S. military. As a veteran of the United States Army, I cannot think of a greater honor than to help equip our servicemembers with the education, experiences, and skills they need to prepare for the next chapter in their lives.”
This latest group of 10 Collegiate Purple Star campuses increases to 46 the number of schools that have earned the designation since 2022. Ohio was the first state in the nation to offer these designations, which advance the work already done by Ohio’s PreK-12 school system to create the Purple Star designation for those schools that worked to become military friendly.
“I am pleased that even more of Ohio’s colleges and universities are rolling out the ‘welcome mat’ on their campuses for our military and veteran families,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “This designation assures service members, veterans, and other military-connected students are able to access the resources and support systems they need to pursue their educational goals.”