Fort Bragg campus reaches milestone

     A few balloons posted in front of an unassuming building. A table spread with ham sandwiches, potato chips and dip. Not many people would know that the Fort Bragg campus was celebrating its 30th year as a satellite campus of Campbell University.
     But Fort Bragg’s Campbell extension has always been quietly productive, processing some 30,000 soldiers and civilians through its doors since it opened in 1976.
     “We have between 600 and 800 students any given term,” said Dave Anderson, director of the Fort Bragg campus. “Before the Middle East War began, we had between 1,000 and 1,200.”
     Campbell’s Fort Bragg campus offers 15 degree programs, including an Associate of Arts; a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice; Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting, computer information systems and Business Administration; Bachelor of Science in computer science, psychology and social science; Bachelor of Applied Science; Bachelor of Health Science; and Master of Business Administration.
     “We’ve come a long way since 1976,” said Pat Palmisano, who joined the staff of the Fort Bragg campus in 1980 when the facility was located in the old education center at Knox and Randolph streets. “We hit 1,000 enrollments in 1981, and we’ve gone up consistently until we peaked in 2002 with a little over 2,100 enrollments, then deployments to Afghanistan began and now the war in Iraq.”
     With most of the 82nd Airborne Division deployed, the number of students has decreased somewhat, but their determination and work ethic still remain solid, said Anderson.
     “Our basic demographic is 50 percent active duty and 50 percent civilians, civilian family members, or veterans,” said Anderson. “Our students are older than those who attend the main campus and are usually trying to balance school with military service or other full time jobs and families.”
     The Fort Bragg faculty is attuned to the special needs of these students, since many of them have military connections themselves, however each faculty member must be approved by the dean of their academic area.
     Campbell student Erica Bender’s husband, Michael, is in the Air Force. She works part time at the Fort Bragg campus office while earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
     “When my husband gets out of the military, I’d like to use my degree either at a bank or with a corporation,” she said. Bender will graduate in December.
     Veterans Affairs work study student Brent Ollermann had to put his degree on hold to fight in Desert Storm. He’s scheduled to receive a Bachelor of Business Administration and Computer Information Systems in 2008.
     A total of 72 students will graduate from Campbell’s Fort Bragg campus this December with approximately twice that number projected to graduate in the spring.
     The Fort Bragg campus employs about 50 instructors every term, Anderson said. “We work hard to ensure our courses have the same academic integrity and quality as those offered on the main campus.”

Photo Copy: Campbell University’s Fort Bragg campus celebrates 30th anniversary. From left, students Brent Ollermann, Erica Bender, Ann-Louise Eskew and Amy Perez.