Captain Nathan Hanners completed the in the fall, and expressed enthusiasm for returning to his position at John Carroll University in Cleveland, now better equipped to engage with students.

鈥淚 was unleashed to work with freshmen students, and although I knew all the material to teach classes, I am excited to get all these great, new ideas to take back to our programs this year,鈥� he said.

MEC is designed to educate the Army ROTC instructors about higher education policies and practices, including teaching and instructional strategies, facilitation of learning, curriculum development, and organizational analysis.

UofL鈥檚 Jeffrey Sun, project director and professor of higher education, worked collaboratively with the U.S. Army to conceive and design the project, which was originally developed in 2014. The initiative was inspired by a joint offering between Columbia University and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Sun also worked on that program rollout in 2004.

The UofL/Army program offers programming opportunities on a bi-annual basis. CEHD professors teach approximately 60 MEC students, who are active-duty soldiers, from throughout the U.S. Delivered across two modules: face-to-face residential module in Fort Knox, and the clinical module delivered online, cadets receive personal and in-depth coaching and mentoring from experienced higher education professionals.

MEC students attend classes during the day and engage in extensive reading and writing assignments during the evenings and weekends. Sprinkled in throughout the program are social activities, which emphasize networking and learning the student experience, along with leadership development seminars about higher education administration.

Soldier placements range across institution types. The most recent group of students represented Georgia State, Mississippi State, Norfolk State, Northwestern, UCLA, Prairie View A&M and Tuskegee. The program is selective and diverse, with students of color representing more than 40% of soldiers in the latest course.

For 1^st Lieutenant Keila Roper, returning to her alma mater at Fort Valley State University in Georgia is an opportunity to change the way things were done during her time as a cadet. She says the MEC program also helped her foster communication across ranks.

鈥淚 feel like this program allows for young lieutenants like us to pick the brains of more seasoned guys. If we’re in uniform, or somewhere on base, we’d be intimidated to ask some of the things we鈥檝e asked. But this program fosters聽an聽open policy to be able to have conversations that are open 鈥� it鈥檚 great,鈥� Roper said.

Roper, along with 1^st Lieutenant Stherline Joseph, is recipient of the General Patton Internship, a program intended to increase diversity in the Army.

Major William R. Hale II is in the twilight of his military career, and says MEC was an opportunity to see career options beyond the military.

鈥淢EC exposes us to higher education administration and give us some tools and a degree to pursue something different after a military career. It鈥檚 a great opportunity, paid for by the Army, for us to be able to get professional and personal development toward future goals,鈥� Hale said.

Upon completion of the MEC program, students earn 18 hours of graduate credit, and are encouraged to continue their academic work in pursuit of a master鈥檚 degree in higher education administration.

The College of 成人直播 and Human Development’s Nina Marijanovic contributed to this article.聽

Cushing, who is assigned as the assistant professor of Military Science at Jackson State University鈥檚 Reserve Officer Training Corp program, came upon the scene of a three-car accident on January 14.聽He directed two bystanders to help him free a man who was trapped in one of the vehicles. When they were initially unable to get the man free, Cushing used a fire extinguisher to bend the broken window so they could extract the man.

Once the man was free of the vehicle, Cushing used his Army medical training to assess the man鈥檚 injuries and determined the man had a significant head wound. Cushing directed one of the two men who helped him to keep pressure on the man鈥檚 head as Cushing went to check on drivers and passengers in the other vehicles involved in the accident.

At the second car, he found a woman whose arm and shoulder appeared to be hurt, though there no signs of major bleeding. Once he determined the woman鈥檚 injuries weren鈥檛 life threatening, Cushing went to check on the third vehicle, but the driver had apparently fled the scene.

When the Emergency Medical Technicians arrived, Cushing helped load the seriously injured driver into the ambulance. With the assistance of a police officer who had arrived on the scene, Cushing then searched the man鈥檚 car for his phone. He used the phone to call the injured man鈥檚 girlfriend to let her know what happened and what hospital the man was being taken to.

Cushing started in UofL鈥檚 Master of Arts in Higher 成人直播 Administration program as part of U.S. Army Cadet Command鈥檚 Master Educator Course. The course, a collaboration between UofL and U.S. Army Cadet Command鈥檚, is a two semester experience, including a four-week instructor boot camp, focused on the knowledge and skills Army officers and senior non-commissioned officers need to be effective senior Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC) instructors.聽

Upon completion of the Master Educator Course, soldiers earn 18 semester credit hours toward UofL鈥檚 Master of Arts in Higher 成人直播 Administration degree. The soldiers then have the opportunity to complete the remaining 18 semester credit hours in the program to earn their Master of Arts in Higher 成人直播 Administration degree.

Cushing is scheduled to graduate from UofL鈥檚 Master of Arts in Higher 成人直播 Administration program in May 2021.

Story written by Kyle Hurwitz, director of UofL’s Military and Online Initiatives.