University Business - March 2008 - (Page 50) est Air Force programs in the country, saw almost a 40 percent surge in participation from pre-9/11 levels. Lt. Col. Elizabeth Cisney, who leads ROTC at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, still finds 9/11 references in student applications. “Most of them will indicate that the events of that day were a wake-up call,” she says. In the past several years, ROTC numbers have subsided for all three military branches—although they remain above pre-9/11 levels at many schools—as the patriotic rush to join has given way to a more sober assessment of the ongoing war in Iraq. The concerns have hit home for Nebraska’s cadets, who have seen two recent graduates die in the war. “It certainly makes them more serious about what they are doing,” notes Cisney. “There are concerns in the minds of students and parents about joining the military in this day and age,” adds Northeastern’s McClellan, who regularly fields questions such as, “What’s it really like in Iraq?” and “How soon ARMY ROTC ENROLLMENT BOOM will my son or daughter be deployed?” The following colleges and universities have experienced the largest growth in Army ROTC enrollment in the past few years. The answer to the latter question: from a few months to one-and-a-half years after graduInstitution 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 ation. Cisney aims to reassure first-year ROTC Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment candidates, however, that “with a four-year lead Ball State University (Ind.) 53 83 202 time, the world situation may change.” Western Illinois University 176 208 307 At WPI, Gauthier stresses that not every The Citadel (S.C.) 1,174 1,209 1,295 Army cadet is “knocking down doors and North Georgia College 566 629 677 looking for insurgents. We have doctors, lawTexas A&M University 573 607 678 yers, satellite communications experts, and engineers,” he says, adding that these future Old Dominion University (Va.) 103 154 197 officers can complete their professional studies University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 112 170 196 before shipping out. Brigham Young University (Utah) 190 226 272 In some cases, cadets can even defer their Marion Military Institute (Ala.) 188 268 268 military service until they’ve completed adSaint Augustine’s College (N.C.) 42 58 122 vanced degrees. “I have a Holy Cross junior Source : U.S. Army Cadet Command who says, ‘I’m thinking of becoming a priest.’ He would come back as a chaplain,” Gauthier Institute (Mass.). Gauthier is aiming to increase by half the 60 cadets says. “It’s the same thing with lawyers and doctors. I’ll support that. enrolled from WPI and 16 surrounding colleges. “Last year I had a But I’ll make sure I have their forwarding addresses.” senior who commuted 45 miles, five days a week, for military science classes and physical training at 6 a.m.,” he points out. Financial Incentives and More Northeastern’s McClellan, meanwhile, is working to reestab- If the events of 9/11 have spoken loudly to prospective cadets, so lish ROTC at Boston neighbors Emmanuel College and Roxbury have the prospects of full scholarships in an age of very expensive Community College and to add them to the network of satellite education. Two years ago, the Army removed the $20,000 ceiling on schools his program serves. At Purdue University (Ind.), the num- its scholarships in favor of full tuition for ROTC cadets. The grants ber of Air Force cadets has almost doubled over the past decade to are awarded competitively to almost 13,000 students nationwide. its current level of 200. “What’s drawing a lot of them—and I have no qualms with this— is that it’s a way to pay for college. When we give a four-year scholarship to Holy Cross or WPI—with the schools throwing in room and The 9/11 Effect Those involved with ROTC agree that 9/11 catalyzed the recent board—they’re getting a good chunk of change,” says Gauthier, who growth of their programs. “People felt the need to serve and defend estimates that the financial package can reach $200,000. “I’m paying for the education of most of my cadets, about the country,” says Northeastern’s president, Joseph Aoun. The numbers back him up. In the academic year following 9/11, $175,000 at this particular school. But I don’t think that’s what ROTC enrollment jumped more than 5 percent for the Army and plants the seed,” says Northeastern’s McClellan. “Often it’s the benefits that attract you, but after you realize the nearly 7 percent for the Navy. The Air Force ROTC recorded its largest numbers in a decade, and Purdue, which has one of the larg- value of service, your sense of doing something bigger than yourself for military training and coursework. (The Air Force ROTC and the Navy ROTC—which includes future Marines—have nearly 12,000 and 6,000 participants, respectively.) Because many are on military scholarships, the cost to their schools is often minimal. While the numbers scarcely approach the 177,000 all-male Army ROTC cadets at the height of the Vietnam War (when the program was the primary alternative to the military draft) and the more than 60,000 just two decades ago (when the Cold War was still a concern), today’s ROTC is alive and well, say its proponents. It supplies more than 60 percent of the Army’s officer corps and 52 percent of its generals. In fact, the number of ROTC grads over the past decade has swelled from 3,600 annually to nearly 4,100 last year, en route to the Army’s goal of 4,500. “Our mission is growing,” observes Lt. Col. Norman Gauthier, who runs ROTC at Worcester Polytechnic 50 | March 2008 universitybusiness.com http://universitybusiness.com
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