Wabash College President Gregory D. Hess announced today the establishment of a new comprehensive scholarship partnership between the College, the United States Army, and Purdue University. Wabash becomes Purdue’s first Army ROTC partner institution.
The program will provide up to three scholarships for entering Wabash freshmen each year who are chosen by the Army to participate in the ROTC program. The scholarships will cover the full cost of tuition and on-campus room and board at Wabash, as well as all costs associated with ROTC courses. The value for four-year participants is in excess of $240,000.
Up to five additional freshmen selected for the ROTC program will receive a Wabash ROTC Scholarship and on-campus room and board their first year. These students will receive full-ride scholarships for their remaining three years at the College.
“Wabash students have a long history of service and we are excited to partner with Army ROTC and Purdue University to provide this fantastic opportunity for young men of promise,” said President Hess.
Wabash students who are chosen for the program will live on the Wabash campus and participate in the full range of activities and intercollegiate athletics the College provides. They will take leadership and officer training courses through the Army at Purdue’s nearby West Lafayette campus.
“In times when issues are more complex and changing more rapidly than ever before, there is no better preparation for life than Wabash classrooms, which focus on critical thinking, written and oral communication skills, and an understanding of our world and its peoples,” said Dean of the College Scott Feller. “Wabash ROTC students will be pushed by their faculty, staff, and peers to be their very best, and I am confident that they will excel and will prove to be among the very best cadets in the program.”
Current high school seniors and Wabash freshmen can learn more about the program from Dean for Enrollment Management Chip Timmons (timmonsc@wabash.edu or 765-361-6054) or Paul Heslin, Purdue’s Army ROTC Enrollment Officer (pheslin@purdue.edu or 765-494-2106). Program applications can be found here. 
“This new program is an incredible opportunity for young men to get a world class liberal arts education at Wabash that will set them on a path for a lifetime of leadership as commissioned officers in the United States Army,” Timmons said.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen T. Schmidt, the Department Head and Senior Professor of Army ROTC at Purdue, will oversee the Wabash program. “I am extremely humbled with the task of guiding young adults to achieve their maximum potential and understand the tremendous responsibility of enhancing the military profession through quality recruitment and training.”
Approximately 80 percent of the Army’s officers come through the ROTC program. Scholarship recipients must complete a service requirement upon graduation from the program.