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The bulk of the gift will support tuition-based scholarships—assuring military-affiliated students and their dependents a pathway to graduation and providing financial respite after degree completion. It will also provide housing support and specialized appropriate programming through Bellarmine’s Office of Military and Veteran Services (OMVS)

 

“At Bellarmine University, we have a long-range vision for supporting military-affiliated students. We feel it is our duty to serve those individuals who have given so much to serve our country,” said Bellarmine’s president, Dr. Susan M. Donovan.

 

Since the OMVS was created in 2018, Bellarmine has received a highly competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create a Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success, the only one of its kind at a private school in the region; established the Valor Learning Community, the first military-affiliated learning community for first-year and transfer students in Kentucky; and received the prestigious “Military Friendly” designation, the highest such distinction a university can earn. A record number of military-affiliated students graduated from Bellarmine in May 2023.

 

“We also have a strong history of partnering with the Richard S. Reynolds Foundation,” Donovan said. “Like Bellarmine, the foundation is dedicated to strengthening communities and supporting future generations.”

 

Richard S. “R.S.” Reynolds founded the United States Foil Company, which later became Reynolds Metals Company, to manufacture tin foil for cigarette packaging. Reynolds then introduced aluminum into the manufacturing of foil, replacing tin. 

 

By the start of World War II, according to the company’s website, Reynolds Metals had become the second producer of basic aluminum in the United States, a role that was instrumental to the production of aircraft and other military supplies. After the war, Reynolds introduced Reynolds Wrap.

 

R.S. Reynolds died in 1955, and his widow, Julia Louise Reynolds, started the Reynolds Foundation shortly afterward. Since that time, the foundation, located in Richmond, Va., has provided over $66 million in grants to community and worldwide organizations, supporting a broad range of causes such as education, the arts, health, science, history, the environment and those in need.

 

Randy Reynolds, a 1967 Bellarmine graduate and R.S. and Julia Reynolds’ grandson, is one of the Reynolds Foundation’s trustees. 

 

“The Richard S. Reynolds Foundation is proud to support our military and veterans through scholarship funds and programs at Bellarmine University,” Randy Reynolds said. “Where would our nation be without our veterans? These funds will help Bellarmine University to improve their lives through the power of education.”  

 

He and the Reynolds Foundation have previously supported Bellarmine’s Frazier Stadium, Bellarmine Centro and the Rubel School of Business.

 

The $500,000 gift from the Reynolds Foundation will support three areas:

 

 

To be considered for the scholarships, veterans, veteran dependents and active-duty personnel should apply to Bellarmine and note their military affiliation. The university will proactively identify students who could greatly benefit the most from this investment, automatically extending offers of designated funding within the specified guidelines.

 

Preference will be given to those who demonstrate the highest level of financial need. Consistent with Bellarmine’s core values, priority will also be given to students who exhibit academic excellence and who possess distinct personal gifts, talents and/or characteristics that would greatly contribute to enriching and enhancing the quality of the campus community.

 

The primary focus of the scholarships will be to subsidize the tuition and comprehensive fee, followed by addressing other traditional direct costs such as housing and food, said Dr. Mike Marshall, Bellarmine’s vice president for Enrollment, Marketing and Communication. 

 

“We are committed to working one-on-one with each recipient to help maximize their financial aid and scholarships,” Marshall said.

 

Orlando Exposito Nunez, a third-year Exercise Science major at Bellarmine who will become a sergeant in the Kentucky National Guard next summer, said he was happy to hear that there will be more scholarship opportunities for incoming military-affiliated students. He said the Office of Military and Veteran Services has done great work to make him and other military-affiliated students feel welcome.

 

“The OMVS has been absolutely amazing and a great resource for me and many others who are part of the military community at Bellarmine,” he said. “They have helped Bellarmine become a more inclusive university.”