Commitment to Student-Veterans, Active Duty Military, Families Recognized

ST. LEO, FL – Saint Leo University recently was named a Top 10 Gold-level Military Friendly® School Award recipient for 2019-2020 in the category of private institutions offering doctoral degrees. Saint Leo is ranked seventh in the nation as a Military Friendly® School.

Now in its 10th year, the Military Friendly® Schools list has come to set the standard for higher education institutions to provide the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses, according to VIQTORY, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) that connects the military community to civilian employment, educational, and entrepreneurial opportunities through its G.I. Jobs®, Military Spouse, and Military Friendly® brands.

“Saint Leo is honored to be named one of the best private, higher education institutions serving our military and veterans,” said Dr. Jen Shaw, vice president of Student Affairs. “It is important to help those who served their country to transition into civilian life as well as helping those who currently serve continue their education no matter where they are located. Saint Leo advocates for its military students, military family members, and student-veterans throughout the university—not only at University Campus, but also at its teaching locations in seven states and those who study online.”

In addition to its main location in in St. Leo, FL, north of Tampa, Saint Leo educates students at more than 30 education centers, including many located on military bases. Saint Leo teaches at one of the largest naval bases in the world, Naval Station Norfolk, as well as at other bases in Virginia, Florida, California, Texas, South Carolina, and Mississippi.

Saint Leo now has three Military Resource Centers—areas where student-veterans, military-affiliated students, and ROTC members may gather to get assistance, study, and enjoy social activities. In addition to the main campus, an MRC is located at Saint Leo’s Newport News, Virginia, location and at its new Savannah Education Center in Savannah, Georgia.

The 2019-2020 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobsmagazine. The list can also be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the university.

Methodology, criteria, and weightings for the rankings were determined by VIQTORY with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. The rankings were determined by looking at the institution’s performance in the areas of student retention; graduation; job placement; loan repayment; persistence (degree advancement or transfer); and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student-veterans.

For more information, contact Militaryservices@saintleo.edu.

About Saint Leo University

Saint Leo University (www.saintleo.edu) is a modern Catholic teaching university that is firmly grounded in the liberal arts tradition and the timeless Benedictine wisdom that seeks balanced growth of mind, body, and spirit. The Saint Leo University of today is a private, nonprofit institution that creates hospitable learning communities wherever students want to be or need to be, whether that is a campus classroom, a web-based environment, an employer’s worksite, a military base, or an office park. Saint Leo welcomes people of all faiths and of no religious affiliation, and encourages learners of all generations.

The university remains the faithful steward of the beautiful lakeside University Campus in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, where its founding monks created the first Catholic college in the state in 1889. Serving nearly 12,000 students, Saint Leo has expanded to downtown Tampa, to other sites in Florida and beyond, and maintains a physical presence in seven states. The university provides highly respected online learning programs to students nationally and internationally. More than 93,000 alumni reside in all 50 states, in Washington, DC, in three U.S. territories, and in 76 countries.