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Winter 2011
Veterans KC The Veterans Knowledge Community will advance Veterans Best Practices through the education and
activation of its members
NASPA
Inside this issue: Amanda Erdmann
University of Wisconsin
One of the newest Knowledge Communities, the Veterans
Knowledge Community is continuing to roll strongly from its
first to second year. As a community that works to advance
best practices for student veterans, the following priorities
will be at the core of the work the KC does in the upcoming
year:
-Priority registration for classes
-Priority enrollment for transfer student veterans
-Moving the School Certifying Official position from an ad-
ministrative position to a student affairs position
-Implementation of assessment measures for veterans ser-
vices on all campuses
-Integration of veterans issues into student government or-
ganizations
If you have any resources to offer the Veterans KC regarding
these priorities, or would like to learn more about how to get
involved, please contact Amanda Erdmann at aman-
Veteran’s Knowledge Community Identifies Top
5 Priorities for Student Veterans Best Practices
Opening Message ………………… 1
VET NET Ally Seminar
……………….. 2
Veteran-Related Presentations at
NASPA Annual Conference
………….. … 3
Get Connected…………… ………… 3
Mark Your Calendars …...………4
Survey ………... ………………… 4
Call for Articles..………………… 4
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VET NET Ally Seminar
Patrick O’Rourke
Region VI VKC Representative
California State University-Long Beach
On Saturday, March 12th, as part of the NASPA Annual
Conference in Philadelphia, the VET NET Ally Seminar
will be presented from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. This seminar is the
result of an action research dissertation by Dr. Marshall
Thomas and includes two other higher education staff, both
of whom, like Dr. Thomas, are U.S. military veterans.
The VET NET Ally Seminar is a faculty and staff aware-
ness program designed to educate the campus community
about the needs of military veterans in higher education and
the diversity of experience and background they bring to
our institutions. Modeled after LGBT Safe Zone (or Safe
Space) programs common on college campuses across the
U.S., the half-day VET NET Ally Seminar focuses on pre-
and post-military culture, personal identity issues, and the
services available to veterans to assist them in achieving
their personal, social, and educational goals.
After attending the seminar, participants are given a sticker
to display in their personal workspace to show their support
for veterans on campus. These stickers serve as visible re-
minders that veterans are welcome and appreciated on cam-
pus, and that they have allies to provide support, infor-
mation, and assistance in their pursuit of academic and per-
sonal success.
The program will be presented Dr. Marshall Thomas, Asso-
ciate Director, Learning Assistance Center (former Marine),
Dr. Michael Barraza, Staff Counselor, Counseling and Psy-
chological Services (former Army soldier), and Patrick
O’Rourke, Director of Veterans University and the Veterans
Affairs Services office (retired Army officer). All three
presenters work at California State University, Long Beach
(CSULB).
The half day seminar includes
VET NET Ally program mission and what CSULB is
doing to help veterans
Why I joined – a discussion about the reasons men and
women join the military
Military and post-service culture - debunking the myths
about veterans and their service
The experience of veterans in the classroom
Veterans issues in higher education
Student veteran panel
Proven outcomes from the VET NET Ally Seminar include
Over 225 staff and faculty have participated in the seminar since February 2010
99% of participants responded that they would “recommend” or “strongly recommend” that their col-leagues attend this seminar.
Requested by several California Community Colleges, the University of California – Irvine, and the California Community College Student Financial Aid Administrators
Selected for presentation at the 2011 NASPA Annual Conference (pre-conference time)
Due to scarce resources, seminars have been limited to
CSULB and other local institutions. While some programs
work well in a webinar format, the VET NET Ally program
relies on personal interaction between participants, present-
ers, and perhaps most importantly with the student panel.
Because the webinar format doesn’t lend itself to this type
of interaction, higher education leaders from more distant
colleges and universities have travelled to CSULB to attend
seminars on our campus, and have asked how to build simi-
lar programs. We believe there is a place for a Veterans’
Ally program on every campus that serves veterans, and we
invite collaboration with other institutions interested in de-
veloping programs for their campuses.
The logo below represents the symbol given to VET NET
Ally Seminar at the end of training. If the attendee chooses
to openly support student veterans and agrees to hold con-
versations with veterans in confidence, they are encouraged
to display the symbol outside their work station. For more
information please contact Patrick C. O’Rourke, Director of
Veterans Affairs Services, California State University, Long
Beach, [email protected] , 562-985-4279.
Website: http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/
veterans_university/awareness/
NASPA VETERANS KC WINTER 2011
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Get Connected Join the Knowledge Com-
munity by clicking
"membership" from the NASPA
homepage, then select "Update
Membership Profile & Prefer-
ences" and scroll to
"Knowledge Community Prefer-
ences."
Contact your Regional KC
Chair to discuss how you might
be helpful in your geographic
region.
Everyone interested in
providing updates, information,
and other important infor-
mation related to Veterans are
welcome to join our listserv.
You do not have to be a mem-
ber of this Knowledge Commu-
nity or a member of NASPA; we
welcome everyone with an in-
terest in these issues.
Interested in joining our
listserv? Please email Joseph
DeSanto in the NASPA office at
[email protected] and specify
the name of the listserv. NASPA
will add you within a few busi-
ness days.
Veteran-Related Presentations at NASPA Annual Conference
Amanda Kraus, Corey Rumann, Mark Bauman Past, Present and Future: Student Veterans on Campus Sunday, March 13 - full day Marriott Franklin 10 Wade Livingston and two colleagues from Clemson Coming Home: Academic and Social Transitions of Student Veterans Monday, March 14 (3:45 PM - 5 PM) Convention Center 118A Christy Willis and three colleagues from GW Student Veteran Transitions: Overcoming Disability, Loss, & Grief Tuesday, March 15 (10:45 AM - 12 PM) Convention Center 118A
Susan Iverson Meeting the Needs of Women Veterans on Campus Tuesday, March 15 (1:45 PM - 3:00 PM) Convention Center 120 Sarah Minnis Troops to College: Collaborative Veteran Student Success Strategy (Sponsored by VKC) Tuesday, March 15 (12:15 PM - 1:30 PM) Marriott Franklin 4 Sarah Minnis
Military Transition and Re-careering Tuesday, March 15 (3:15 PM - 4:30 PM) Marriott Franklin 10
NASPA VETERANS KC WINTER 2011
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CALL FOR ARTICLES
If you are interested in sharing:
Your original work;
Suggestions for articles from outside sources that
you feel would be especially useful to readers
(please include citation);
Pictures;
Book reviews; or
Events taking place (please include title, descrip-
tion of event, date and time, and location)
Please contact Megan Ziegler, Veterans KC Newslet-ter Editor at [email protected]
Mark Your Calendars
NASPA VETERANS KC WINTER 2011
Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC)
Upcoming Workshops
March 3, 2011
SOC DNS Workshop
University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX
Information: http://www.soc.aascu.org/socgen/
Workshops.html
March 10, 2011
SOC Consortium Workshop
Mid-American Christian University
Oklahoma City, OK
Information: http://www.soc.aascu.org/socgen/
Workshops.html
May 3, 2011
SOC Consortium Workshop
Grand View University
Des Moines, IA
Information: http://www.soc.aascu.org/socgen/
Workshops.html
Note: Only current DNS members are invited to attend the
DNS workshop. For the SOC Consortium Workshops, cur-
rent and prospective institutions are eligible to attend.
Student Veterans of America: 2011 Spring Leadership
Summit
June 2-5, 2011
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Information: http://www.studentveterans.org/?p=1129
The Department of Defense Worldwide Education
Symposium 2012 “Request for Proposal”
Accepted until April 30, 2011
Program July 23-27, 2012
MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Information: www.ww2012.com
A National Student
Veterans Survey is being
conducted by the Student
Veterans of America and
the National Center for
Veterans Studies at the
University of Utah.
Please take the survey by
visiting the link below:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/
s/DH7L8C6