USM gets $500K donation to help student veterans

Courtesy / University of Southern Maine Joe and Sheri Boulos are donating $500,000 to the University of Southern Maine, which will create an endowed scholarship for student veterans.

Write a Comment

By Staff

The University of Southern Maine said it has received a Veterans Day gift in the form of a $500,000 donation to create an endowed scholarship for veterans attending the school.

The gift, from philanthropists Joe and Sheri Boulos of Falmouth, along with $100,000 from an anonymous donor, will be used to help fund five scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this Monday’s Veterans Day than by setting up an endowed scholarship fund to help our veterans complete their degrees,” said USM President Glenn Cummings in a statement. “Long after the parades are over, this incredibly generous gift will help us celebrate and honor our veterans in an enduring and important way.”

Joe Boulos, chairman of Boulos Asset Management and founder of commercial real estate firm The Boulos Co., is a veteran who served as a U.S. Marine Corps pilot in Vietnam. He has also been recognized for his service to returning Maine veterans.

Cummings praised Boulos as an American success story who gives back to his community, adding: “We are deeply grateful to Joe and Sheri for their extraordinary generosity and for their commitment to helping veterans to continue their education. This is an amazing gift that will change lives for the better.”

The new Boulos Veterans Promise Completion Scholarship Fund will provide critical financial support to help veterans complete a degree at USM, which has campuses in Gorham, Lewiston and Portland.

The funding will also support a graduate assistant position for a veteran to work with the USM Promise Scholarship Coordinator to supplement career and other services provided by USM’s Office of Veterans Services.

USM spokesman Bob Stein told Mainebiz that 330 veterans are currently enrolled at USM.

The Boulos Scholarship is an expansion of USM’s Promise Scholarship program, which is designed to help students overcome financial and other barriers to completing a degree, while also helping students graduate with little or no debt.

Working with USM Veterans Services, the new program may also partner with organizations such as the federally funded Veterans Upward Bound program, located on the Portland campus.

“It is our hope that our gift will help veterans get the education they seek and deserve,” Joe Boulos said in the announcement. “They have given so much of themselves in service to our country, and Sheri and I are pleased to be able to give something to them in return.”

Applications will be accepted in the spring for the 2020-21 academic year.

Veterans who have been enrolled at USM for at least one year, with demonstrated financial need and a solid record of academic performance, will be eligible to apply.