Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recognized the University in a press conference last week for its recent action to provide 110 scholarships to veterans looking to earn their Masters of Business Administration.

These scholarships, each worth $74,000, would be offered to veterans who already meet admissions qualifications along with meeting the Illinois Veterans Grant requirements for duty service and residency. The scholarships will cover tuition, housing, meals, books, mandatory fees, and a trip to China.

“This is not a thank you,” said Robert van der Hooning, assistant dean for the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “This is a small token of appreciation for serving, which (others) can’t begin to comprehend.”

Funded by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the scholarship program will work in conjunction with the veteran’s grant credit system. The grant gives veterans 120 credits, one credit for each hour towards a degree. If eligible veterans do not have enough credits to go toward an MBA, the University of Illinois will waive the rest of the expenses.

Scholarships can be used towards earning an MBA from the University or towards the Executive MBA program offered at the Chicago campus. The Executive program is geared towards working professionals with real-world experience.

“No one has ever stepped forward and added money to the Illinois Veterans Grant and then marketed it with any discipline (like the college of business),” van der Hooning said. “We’ve added kind of a professional market to it.”

During the program, students take a trip to China as part of an International Business course. They work with a company on a real business issue to gain valuable experience.

U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), who sponsored the Welcome Home GI Bill Act of 2005, is enthusiastic about the program.

“Illinois GIs have served humbly in the face of terror and insurgency across the globe,” Emanuel said. “And when these young people return home, they need the assistance of institutions such as the University of Illinois so that they can finish their education and get on with the lives they deserve.”

As for the future of educational benefits in Illinois, van der Hooning said he hopes to “bring others into the Illinois family and show them what a great value we are.”