| Avis and Bruce Richards |
The unemployment rate for veterans is higher than the national average — 7.2 percent versus 5.2 percent for nonvets. Bruce Richards thinks that a four-year college degree is the way to change those figures for the better and set vets on a solid career path.
Richards, 55, is the CEO and managing partner of $12.5 billion New York investment firm Marathon Asset Management. He and his wife, Avis Richards, are supporting vets who want to return to school and need help covering the full cost of a four-year degree. “Veterans are loyal, they’re hardworking, they’re dedicated — the exact attributes we look for at Marathon and the financial community looks for when they hire,” Richards says.
The Richardses are tackling the problem with two initiatives. The first is a personal donation of $1 million for scholarships from the Richardses to the University of Maryland, presented on Saturday, November 21, to school president Wallace Loh with 1,000 University of Maryland veteran students in attendance.
The second initiative is a recently launched crowd-funding campaign through Crowdrise, which will run from Veterans Day this year through next year’s. As part of the Veterans Education $1 Million Matching Challenge, the Richardses are offering a dollar-for-dollar match to every donation, up to $1 million. The goal is for $2 million in further funds for vet scholarships. These scholarships will be spread over various state universities.
The GI Bill helps veterans with education expenses. The original GI Bill was created to help post–World War II returning vets with education, home loans and other necessities for settling into civilian life. The current bill, called the Post-9/11 Bill, covers only education.
But there are still gaps. The full cost of a four-year accredited college degree, with living expenses, books and the other myriad expenses that come with education, is often more than the GI Bill covers. At the University of Maryland, says Richards, there’s an average shortage of almost $6,000 per student. The financial burden is even greater for the 35 percent of veteran students who have dependents. Degree completion rates for vets are also lower than the national average. “If you can release some of that financial pressure and allow them to focus on their education, that’s potentially the difference between having a job and not having a job,” says Richards.
The idea to focus on scholarships for vets, says Richards, came after conversations with returning servicemen and -women and hearing about the difficulties many face in fully funding their college education. “I’ve been talking to veterans and various universities about this need,” he says. “There are great causes and fundraising efforts. We’ve supported Wounded Warriors and housing for vets and other charitable organizations for years, but what I haven’t observed is a focus on scholarship funding for vets. Everybody assumes the GI Bill picks up the bill.”
The Richardses decided to begin with the University of Maryland because of the high population of vets in the area and number of vets already enrolled at the school, and because at a state university the funds will go far. (Avis and the Richardses daughter Chloe are alumnae of the school.) The scholarships will be administered through the school’s financial aid office and will include additional services, such as mentoring and tutoring, as needed.
“Our gift allows for a more seamless adjustment financially where vets can reenter the academic world in order to broaden their range of career options when they graduate and go on to be productive citizens post-military service,” says Richards.
Entrepreneurship is high in the vet community. About 9 percent of private businesses in the U.S. are vet owned, and they employ almost six million people. “They’re an important part of our population,” says Richards. “Not only is their service essential to our freedom, they also make very good businesspeople.”
By helping to ease one of the burdens faced by veterans who want to return to school and embark on the next stage of their lives, Richards hopes to encourage others to follow his lead. “The private sector can do much to help support our veterans,” says Richards. “I’m just trying to make a difference and do my part.”
