University of Lynchburg has met a $250,000 challenge grant issued by Dr. John D. Bower, a 1957 graduate who gave $250,000 to his alma mater in 2010 to establish a scholarship for veterans.
Dr. Bower will match that $250,000 on Veterans Day during a service that begins at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 in Snidow Chapel.
Dr. Bower has made a second challenge of an equal amount to create a veterans center at the College. That will bring Dr. Bower’s commitment to $750,000, with the potential for the College to put $1.25 million toward veterans’ education and support.
A dedicated team of “flag bearer volunteers,” composed primarily of several LC alumni veterans, helped lead the effort to match Dr. Bower’s first $250,000 challenge, and are on their way to matching the second $250,000 grant by December 31, 2012.
Dr. Bower, a Bedford, Va. native and retired physician renowned for his pioneering work with kidney disease and dialysis, served for four years in the U.S. Navy before attending University of Lynchburg. He graduated in 1957 after only two and a half years.
The Dr. John D. Bower Veterans Scholarship Fund was established to aid eligible veteran students with a 3.0 GPA or higher, with first preference to those pursing degrees in science at LC. The College hopes to award the first scholarship for the spring semester.
Once the fund reaches $750,000 or more, the Dr. John D. Bower Veterans Advocacy Center will be established to provide resources, computers, special program events, and an environment that aids veterans as they transition from military to academic life and then to professional and civilian life.
The center will also work with the LC Veterans Task Force Committee to expedite enrollment and other college services, and will provide military awareness training to faculty, staff, and the campus community to honor and assist veterans.
For more information, contact Shannon Brennan, director of media relations, at 434-544-8609.