Excelsior College wants to wish the US Army a Happy 235th Birthday today! We wouldn’t be where we are without the brave people in our military forces. Thank you.

Click here to see the cake cutting ceremony at the Pentagon.

Excelsior College would like to congratulate all of our proud servicemembers and wish a Happy Birthday to the US Army on June 14th. To see how the birth of the US Army came about, click here for more information.

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) introduced a bill to improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits program. The bill includes six major changes that will be welcomed by veteran students, school officials, and veterans service organizations.

Read more: http://military-education.military.com/2010/06/senate-moves-to-fix-gi-bill/?ESRC=education.nl#ixzz0ptED0dDh

Excelsior College hosted an Open House for military and veterans this past week on Wednesday, May 19th. It was well attended and allowed for prospective students with questions talk to advisors and counselors right on the spot. Thanks to everyone for their hard work!

Afghanistan Veteran, Rhodes Scholar and IAVA Board Member Wes Moore is traveling the country this summer to share his much anticipated debut book The Other Wes Moore, the true story of two boys with the same name and two dramatically different fates. Click here for more information.

Excelsior College is holding an Open House for all military servicemembers and veterans on Wednesday, May 19th from 10:00am to 12:00pm and 4:00pm to 7:00pm at our Albany campus. There will be refreshments and prizes and if you bring your transcripts, one of our military advisors will give you a FREE evaluation right on the spot!

For more information or see our flyer, visit www.excelsior.edu/openhouse.

Excelsior College launched 2 new programs, the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Business and Management, and the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Technology Management on March 1st.

These new military-friendly degree programs were designed for:
• Military servicemembers applying credit for military training toward a bachelor’s degree
• Military spouses
• Veterans
• DoD civilians with government-sponsored training evaluated for college credit by ACE
• People with associate’s degrees in applied science (administrative/management studies or technical studies)

You can apply up to 45 elective credits toward program requirements — a great head start to your bachelor’s degree that saves you time and money.

“The launch of the BPS degrees underscores Excelsior’s long-standing commitment to serving members of the military. For those pursuing specific career paths, a bachelor’s degree in business and management or technology may be essential. These programs are designed to allow maximum credit transfer, making degree completion much more efficient for those with military training to earn a degree matched to their career field. The new BPS degrees provide graduates of the AAS degrees in business and technology the opportunity to continue their education at the bachelor’s degree level.”

- Susan Dewan, Executive Director, Center for Military Education

Visit our Bachelor of Professional Studies page for program highlights or call 888-647-2388, ext. 1352.

Click here to read the full article.

Here’s some interesting news from our backyard,courtesy of the Times Union newspaper:
A Clifton Park soldier and longtime car racing fan needs your vote: He’s one of five finalists to have a major NASCAR race named after him.

New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Brian Speach is in the running to have the May 1 NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway named “The Brian Speach 400 Sponsored by Crown Royal.”

Speach, 43, was nominated for the honor by a fellow guardsman after serving a half dozen times in Iraq or Afghanistan since joining the Navy in 1986, and for resuscitating 8-year-old John Edward, who had almost drowned in the pool of the Saratoga Springs Hilton Inn on Sept. 19.

The combat veteran is a finalist in the Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey’s “Your Name Here Military 400.” If Speach receives the most votes here by Friday, the race will be his.
As a finalist, Speach and his wife Theresa, also a NASCAR fan, won a free trip to the Daytona 500 in Florida on Sunday, Valentine’s Day. The winner of the Crown Royal contest will be announced from Daytona Friday.

Speach is a massive Miller Light racing fan, so having a race carry his name and being honorary starter would be overwhelming.“That would be like the best experience I ever had,” he said.

Is anyone going to the CCME (Council of College and Military Educators) convention in Nashville from 2-15 to 2-18? We’re a platinum sponsor – look for our booth!