On Veterans Day, November 11, Bob Jones University held an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) contracting ceremony, at 11 a.m. in Founder’s Memorial Amphitorium.
Crosstown partnerships with Furman University (Army) and Clemson University (Air Force), which were launched in 2018, allow BJU students to participate in their respective ROTC battalions. While most BJU students are qualified to join either program, wear the uniform and hold the title “cadet,” exceptional cadets who stand out as scholars, athletes and leaders may be offered scholarship contracts that cover their costs of tuition, fees, and books and receive a monthly stipend.
Cadets who accept a scholarship commit themselves, upon graduation, to be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant with their respective military branch. For these cadets, a contracting ceremony is held to publicly acknowledge their commitment to continue their preparation as military officers and to accept a commission at the end of their academic training.
This semester’s program featured three Army ROTC cadets: freshman business administration major Grant Gleaton of West Columbia, South Carolina; sophomore information technology major Noah Kim of Suwon-Si Gyeonggi, South Korea; and sophomore history major Graham Webb of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
BJU engineering faculty member Dr. Jeff King (Commander U.S. Navy (ret.), ROTC Coordinator) and Lt. Colonel Sarah Whitten (Professor of Military Science, Paladin Battalion, U.S. Army ROTC) presided over the ceremony and presented the contracts.
The ceremony included the presentation of scholarships and a formal swearing-in.
"The contracting ceremony is a milestone in the progression of an ROTC cadet," said King. "By contracting, a cadet demonstrates their commitment to future military service, activates current scholarship benefits, receives a monthly stipend and becomes eligible to attend advanced training, internships and other opportunities to help them towards their goal of becoming a U.S. Army officer after graduating from Bob Jones University.”
Upon graduation, contracted cadets participate in a commissioning ceremony during which they receive their commissions as Second Lieutenants and become official members of their military branch.
As commissioned officers, they fulfill their commitments by serving either on active duty for four years or in their branch’s reserve or guard component for eight years.
For more information about BJU’s ROTC program, click here.
