A veteran himself, Roach said that he’s always had soft spot for those who have served in the military. He served in the Marine Corps from 1972 to 1975, a timewhen vets were not treated as well as they are now.

“Most of the people who served during the time I served were looked down upon,” said Roach. “It’s actually great and heartwarming to see how vets are treated now.”

Indeed times have changed. The Rose Hill campus’ ROTC faced intense protests during the Vietnam War, although such opposition had largely cooled down by the time Roach entered the service, he said. He hopes his high visibility at Rose Hill will provide a counterbalance to Frank’s leadership at the Lincoln Center campus.

“It’s nice to have a chairperson at each campus,” said Frank. “The vets are very organized at Lincoln Center and we want to get them better organized at Rose Hill.”

Among other things, there will be a renewed effort to find more space for the vets. Right now, veterans have a space at Fordham’s new offices at 45 Columbus Avenue, but nothing at Rose Hill. Once a space is identified, it will also sport new furnishings from Home Depot, thanks to a $9,000 grant from the Student Veterans of America’s VetCenter Initiative.

Roach said the new school year represents an opportunity for him to “listen, learn,and then hopefully lead,” adding that the University is fortunate to have vets in the classroom.

“It’s good for the general student population to be sitting next to someone who says, ‘Look, I’ve served X amount of years in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan,’” he said.“It brings balance to a discussion, whether they’re talking about history or political science.

“And if you think about men and women for others, obviously by serving in the military you’re willing to put your life on the line for other people. So I think it fits well with our Jesuit philosophy and mission.”

In an effort to coordinate disparate veteran groups from across the University, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) has hired a Veterans Coordinator and has set aside space for the vets to meet, hang out, study, and organize events. The space will be staffed with student vets hired through the Veterans Administration’s work-study program.

The initiatives were announced last Thursday when Fordham welcomed dozens of veterans to an orientation at the Law School’s sleek new mock courtroom.

For several years, the Fordham vet community has been nurtured by Michael Gillan, Ph.D., and James Hennessey, Ph.D., through the Fordham Veterans Initiative. But with Gillan recently retired as associate vice president of Fordham Westchester, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Dean Isabelle Frank, Ph.D., has assumed the role of co-chair alongside Hennessy, who is dean at the Graduate School of Education.

Fordham Student Veterans Association President Pat Hackett and B-Vets President Chris Maloney give vets the lowdown.

“We have the largest number of vets by far at PCS, so it was a very natural transition for us,” said Frank. “We have great hopes that the school will be able to help vets University wide.”

The need for coordination is clear. Each school at Fordham has its own veterans group; PCS’s Armed Forces of Fordham is the largest with 300 members. Then there’s Graduate School of Business Administration’s B-Vets, and the Graduate School of Social Services’ GSSVets, with about 30 members each. SERV, at the Law School group, has 15 members. The University is also affiliated nationally through the Student Veteran’s Association; there are at least 1,000 members of Fordham Veteran Alumni; and several veteran organizations partner with Fordham.

Luis Garcia and fellow vets met up at the Law School’s new digs

“This is something we started talking about last year,” said Pat Hacket, a PCS senior and president of Student Veteran’s Association at Fordham. “We figured we could tackle multiple issues, multiple problems, from multiple venues, with everyone coming to one place.”

Mike Abrams, who teaches a seminar to the vets on career transition leadership at PCS, has assumed the role of coordinator.

The new veterans space is in Room 839 at the Lowenstein Center.

Several events have already been planned for the school year, some in coordination with other veteran groups and schools, like tonight’s Ruck March at Merchants’ Gate Plaza, the entrance to Central Park at Columbus Circle at 6:30 p.m. The Fordham Vets will meet with vets from around the city in an effort to raise consciousness of veteran suicide.

Other events on the docket include the 9/11 Heroes Run on Randall’s Island on September 6, the Veterans Day Parade on November 11, and a gala benefiting Toys for Tots on December 13.

PCS Dean Isabelle Frank, Ph.D., made the announcement at a March 11 White House sponsored event focused on President Obama’s Critical Infrastructure Framework, the presidential initiative addressing the nation’s cyberrisk.

Inspired by Fordham’s high-profile International Conference on Cyber Security, Frank oversaw the development of a review seminar at PCS of security best practices for information systems. The certificate course, Information Systems Security, was prepared by (ISC)², a nonprofit certification consortium, and its popularity has led to the development of the master’s program.

“Cybersecurity effects all types of organizations,” said Frank. “And as we begin to understand the risks we’ll need to think about the human side, because behind every attack there is a person.”

PCS will collaborate with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and its Computer and Information Science Department in particular. Frank said that the goal is to further develop the programming to be industry specific, eventually folding in law, business, and public policy.

“The intent is to build on other tracks geared to other types of employees or staff, so that graduates are able to translate cyberrisks they relate to particular fields,” she said.

The program will be run primarily through the Lincoln Center campus; however, students will be able to attend other campuses as well. Online classes and intensive weekend sessions will also be part of the coursework.

The degree program was created with member support from the computer and information sciences department: especially Bob Moniot, Ph.D., associate professor and chair and Frank Hsu, Ph.D., the Clavius Distinguished Professor of Science. Associate Professor Xiao Xu Han, Ph.D., will coordinate the program. Anthony J. Ferrante, FCRH ’01, GSAS ’04, an adjunct known for his extreme hacking courses, will teach in the program.

Frank said that, though other universities offer similar programing, Fordham’s blended learning approach of online and classroom courses, coupled with the convenience offered for career professionals, makes the new master’s unique.

“We’re taking the best of both worlds,” she said, adding, “This is one incredibly fast- growing sector—meaning that there will be jobs at the end of this degree.”