The Public Service Enterprise Group Foundation, better known as the PSEG Foundation, has recently granted $200,000 to Thomas Edison State University (TESU) in support of their Military and Veteran Portal (MVP).
“Veterans often struggle with integration into civilian life,” said Calvin Ledford, PSEG director of Corporate Social Responsibility and president of the PSEG Foundation. “The PSEG Foundation, which supports education and workforce development programs, is honored to help TESU and all those who create the tools and resources veterans need to apply their abundant skills, experience and leadership to their community.”
Launched in 2014 with support from PSEG Foundation, the MVP portal of TESU has helped nearly 14,000 U.S. service members and veterans discover how their military training equates to college credits, view potential degree programs aligned with their training and estimate the cost of their education – all before they apply to the university.
With the help of the PSEG Foundation and their $200,000 grant, non-military students and alumni will have access to the same resources. The portal’s newly developed Career Enhancement Initiative will make those components available to thousands of TESU’s non-military students and alumni seeking jobs or advancement in their fields. The initiative will also provide a platform on which the university’s employer partners can post available career opportunities at their organizations and proactively recruit students and alumni for available positions.
Outside of the MVP portal, the grant will also ensure students receive innovative, hands-on simulation training in cybersecurity courses.
“The PSEG Foundation helps build sustainable and thriving communities by fostering safety, diversity, inclusion and equity as well as supporting education and the environment in the communities we serve, and TESU embodies this mission,” said Ledford.
The PSEG Foundation has supported TESU previously with other funding. Past funding from the PSEG Foundation supported enhancements to the MVP portal’s career counseling and job placement components for active-duty service members and veterans. PSEG Foundation funding has also supported state-of-the-art online laboratory simulations in the university’s online cybersecurity programs.
The recent grant support is focused on addressing the shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals in the workforce. In response, expansion of new laboratory simulations in the university’s cybersecurity courses will provide students with operationally-realistic environments and hands-on skillsets necessary to address current and emergent cyber threats.
“The initiatives will allow us to create a pathway of success for more students and alumni while providing a pipeline of talented graduates entering the workforce,” said John Thurber, vice president for Public Affairs at TESU. “We are immensely grateful to PSEG for enabling us to continue to serve our military and veteran students while enriching our cybersecurity programs and extending the efficacy of the MVP portal to our civilian students, alumni and our corporate partners.”
