They are librarians and researchers. They are students, pursuing degrees in business and nursing. They are resource officers. They are the fastest growing student group on campus.
They are veterans – the 122 currently enrolled as students and the 700 self-identified military veterans in Duke’s workforce and on this Veterans Day, we honor them.
In 2008, Congress passed the post-9/11 GI Bill, creating a fund that covers the full cost of an undergraduate education at any public university or college in the country and many private schools for veterans of the nation’s most recent conflicts. The legislation also established The Yellow Ribbon Program meant to make private schools more accessible for veterans. In June of 2009, Duke announced a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in the Yellow Ribbon program.
In the years since the passage of the new GI Bill, the number of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students receiving VA benefits at Duke has increased by 451 percent. Bruce Cunningham, Duke’s assistant vice provost and university registrar says the increase is a result of both programs by making it possible for veterans to attend Duke for a “very reasonable cost.”
Cunningham says Duke has been “very generous in our Yellow Ribbon offerings and they have been increased every year of the program. We’ve participated fully every year of the program. All of our schools participate in Yellow Ribbon; I’m not sure if that is the case for all institutions. I really think the Yellow Ribbon is the key to our growth in vets attending.”
This commitment to providing services for veterans doesn’t stop once a student makes the decision to attend Duke. The Division of Student Affairs offers a wide range of services to current students, staff and faculty meant to support the particular needs of the veteran population.
Student Affairs has provided extensive training to staff members at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) on how to best help veterans with psychological and emotional issues. This summer, student affairs also hosted a training facilitated by the VA on resources available for veterans. It was followed by an open house for students who were looking to better understand their benefits.
Once they graduate, Duke’s student veterans will join a distinguished group of Duke alumni, many of whom continue to serve fellow veterans and their nation. Duke alumni veterans serving in the federal government include Secretary of Veteran Affairs’ Eric Shinseki (MA ’76) , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey (MA ’84), and Tommy Sowers (AB ’98), the Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the VA.
Another veteran alumnus, Eric Greitens, started The Mission Continues, an organization that awards community service fellowships to post-9/11 veterans. This past summer, a group of six Army officers – and fellow Duke alumni – completed a 500-mile run from the Duke Chapel to the World Trade Center site in New York City (with a stop in Washington, D.C.) to raise money for The Mission Continues.
The Duke University Office of Federal Relations thanks all of those who have served our great nation and remains committed to supporting the needs of our student and alumni veterans.