The Undergraduate Senate unanimously supported creating a Veterans’ Resource Center at their April 1 meeting.
The resolution, sponsored by Class of 2012 Senator Roger Deming and Class of 2013 Senator and SG President-elect Emily Yu, advocates for a joint effort between AU Vets and the SG Department of Military Affairs to establish the center.
The purpose of the center is two-fold, Deming said.
“First, we want to be able to help with administrative issues, like dealing with the VA [U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs],” Deming said. “The other part is a social aspect. We want to give vets a location on campus to mix and mingle with each other.”
AU has an online Veterans Liaison Network, comprised of staffers from AU Central, the Counseling Center, the Academic Support Center, Disability Support Services, the Career Center, Admissions and other AU offices. The offices work with veterans on academic, financial and student life issues.
Deming cited research from the Pat Tillman Foundation, which showed that a resource center would increase grades and retention rates among veterans.
AU Central Associate Director Valerie Verra will fill a new full-time position dedicated to veterans affairs. Valerie Verra has VA administrative certification and also serves as the co-chair of the Veterans Liaison Network.
Deming hopes to continue soliciting donations for the Veterans Resource Center from the AU community for the rest of this school year.
The center’s staff would ideally be comprised of a full-time staff member along with several federal work-study recipients, preferably veterans, he said.
A lounge in the VRC would also help vets make the social transition to AU, Deming said.
“It’s harder,” he said. “Having other veterans to relax with, people that have been there and been through what we’ve been through, it’d be a huge help.”
