MURFREESBORO — Administrative
efforts to make MTSU both a statewide and national leader in educating veterans
takes a significant turn this fall.
By late October, the new Veterans and Military Family Center
will be up and running, enabling the university’s student-veteran population to
have a virtual one-stop-shop to meet a variety of academic-related needs.
MTSU will celebrate the dedication of the center at 10 a.m.
Thursday, Nov. 5, highlighting a busy fall semester for student-veterans. The
public and MTSU community are invited.
At the second Graduating Senior Stole Ceremony Wednesday
(Aug. 5) in the Tom H. Jackson Building’s Cantrell Hall, university President
Sidney A. McPhee unveiled renderings for the proposed facility, providing facts
and the need for the center.
“This center will
open in November, just before Veterans Day and our Salute to Armed Services
football game this November,” McPhee said. “And it will be largest and most
comprehensive veterans center among Tennessee universities.”
McPhee added the
center “will be a place for our student-veterans to study, to gather and to get
help from fellow veterans, who will serve as peer advisers and sponsors.”
Provost Brad Bartel shared the academic component for the
center. Keith M. Huber, senior adviser for Veterans and Leadership Initiatives
at MTSU, talked about the impact the center will have on student-veterans.
The renovated 2,600-square-foot center will be located on
the first floor of Keathley University Center. The university has committed
$329,000 toward the project.
“This center will provide a specifically detailed awareness
and direct access to the complex and often-confusing system of the federal
Department of Veterans Affairs,” Huber said.
The center will occupy space formerly held by the Disability
and Access Center, the first VetSuccess on Campus office in Tennessee and the
Military Center. The Tennessee Board of Regents approved the name change to
Veterans and Military Family Center in early July.
Nearly doubling in size from its former space, the center
will address a number of needs: financial aid and academic advising, and more.
The Disability and Access Center will be moving to the newly
remodeled KUC Testing Center.
“It will be a singular location where everything they need
for success will be available, from scheduling courses and completing
government paperwork to answering questions concerning benefits and employment
opportunities,” said Huber, who retired as a lieutenant general from the U.S.
Army after nearly 40 years on active duty as an infantry and Special Forces
officer.
The center will have distinctive space for discussions,
study sessions and will be staffed by fellow student-veterans, who will serve
as peer advisers and sponsors. There will be a conference room for video
teleconferencing and employer job interviews.
Huber credits McPhee’s vision for recognizing the need for
the center and “providing essential resources, combined with his personal
leadership, to demonstrate a significant commitment,” he said.
The university named Hilary Miller, a military spouse,
center director earlier this summer. She will lead an experienced staff, as
well as VA employees Heather Conrad with VetSuccess on Campus and Ray Howell,
Veteran Affairs coordinator.
While the renovation is in progress, personnel will
temporarily move to the Midgett Building and Kirksey Old Main. Miller’s office
will be in the James E. Walker Library. Someone will sit at a table outside the
area being renovated and direct student-veterans to the person they need to
see.
The MTSU Veterans and Military Family Center
Name: Veterans
and Military Family Center
Location: First
floor of Keathley University Center
Director: Hilary
Miller
Size of facility:
2,600 square feet
MTSU financial
commitment: $329,000
MTSU student-veteran
population: 1,000 (includes family members)
Center features:
Conference room, five office spaces, adviser workspaces, student computer area,
reception area, lounge area, kitchenette
Move-in date: Monday, Oct. 19 (tentative)
Dedication time/date:
10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5
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