American College to Open Center for Veterans

 in Bryn Mawr will open a Center for Veterans Affairs later this year to offer continuing education to any person who has served our country.

The Veterans Center will educate current and past military members in financial services, said Allen McLellan, Associate Dean of The American College, and will do so with an assist from the life insurance company Penn Mutual, which will donate $2.5 million over five years for the center.

The American College, founded in 1927, provides financial services education. The college does not offer bachelor’s degrees, but does offer two masters programs. Many of the students who attend The American College are professionals seeking training to be insurance representatives, financial advisors or long-term care specialists.

The center will offer programs on the college’s campus as well as distance education courses. These courses will be available online, so that members of the armed forces who are currently deployed can still take classes.

“Someone could literally be sitting in a tent in Afghanistan and be taking courses through the American College on their laptop,” McLellan said.

The associate dean added that many members of the armed forces are prepared to enter the workforce.

“They’ve been in competitive environments for years,” McLellan said.

Many have already earned a bachelor’s degree as well, he added. In addition to any previous education, they also go through a rigorous basic training and in many cases special training.

When the veterans return, they “want to get going very quickly on their new career,” McLellan said.

Marty Costello, Commander of the Bateman-Gallagher American Legion Post 668 in Wayne, also noted how the training the military receives prepares them for jobs when they return home.

Many veterans do go back to school, Costello said. However, what they are truly seeking is a sense of normalcy.

“People have to understand when these guys and gals are coming back from Iraq, they look like they’ve adjusted but they probably haven’t,” he said.

What these vets really need, Costello said, is for people to give them a chance. But the economy and current events make it even more challenging for returning veterans to find jobs.

“It definitely is going to be a situation because so many are coming back at once,” Costello said.

He also suggested that about half of the homeless population in America is made up of veterans. Costello believes that resources such as the Center for Veterans Affairs can help lower that number and improve the lives of returning veterans.

“This is what we’re supposed to be doing,” he said.

Members of the military make a great sacrifice, McLellan said, and this is an opportunity to give back.

“We’re giving them the chance to have an extremely lucrative and rewarding career.”

Even if they are not in combat, members of the armed forces often relocate frequently, which can disrupt families or cause them to miss time with their families.

Military deployments can be two or three tours, totaling eight or nine years, McLellan said.

“It takes you away from traditional education," he said.

McLellan also noted that there is a shortage of financial service advisors. Many of those in financial services are aging, and McLellan said that the need for new advisors was part of what interested Penn Mutual.

“The industry needs new people,” he said. It made the partnership between The American College and Penn Mutual “a very natural fit.”

The planning process for the Center for Veterans Affairs began in February 2010. The American College drafted a proposal and submitted it to Penn Mutual, who then accepted.

“I certainly would not want to be remiss in thanking Penn Mutual for their support,” McLellan said.

Penn Mutual has been an educational partner with The American College prior to the development of the Center for Veterans Affairs.