Veteran Affairs – Fordham Now https://now.fordham.edu The official news site for Fordham University. Tue, 19 Nov 2024 21:09:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://now.fordham.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/favicon.png Veteran Affairs – Fordham Now https://now.fordham.edu 32 32 232360065 Veteran Population Shows Marked Growth https://now.fordham.edu/politics-and-society/veteran-population-shows-marked-growth-2/ Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:23:59 +0000 http://news.fordham.sitecare.pro/?p=31415 Veterans and their dependents have proven to be one of the fastest-growing populations at Fordham. The number of veterans and their dependents grew from 180 a year ago to 236 this fall.

“It’s something that Fordham has distinguished itself in, not just this time around, but after Vietnam and after World War II—after every conflict going back to the Civil War,” said Michael Gillan, Ph.D., associate vice president at the Lincoln Center campus and co-chair of the FordhamVets Task Group.

The number of veterans has risen steadily since Fordham launched the Fordham University Veterans Initiative (FordhamVets) in 2009, which offers services geared toward helping veterans move from the military to college life.

Several new initiatives are enhancing the University’s veteran-friendly reputation. This semester, the Human Resiliency Institute in the Graduate School of Education implemented Edge4Vets, a pilot program that involves workshops that help veterans transition into student life and, ultimately, a career.

“They come from the military with very strong core beliefs around duty, dependability, integrity and more. And those provide a solid foundation in civilian life,” said Tom Murphy, director of the Human Resiliency Institute. “Edge4Vets seeks to help them translate those beliefs into application for civilian use.”

Ultimately, Murphy said, the program—which will hold its final workshop on Jan. 18—will expand to include a business mentorship in one of 200 organizations nationally for all participating veterans.

Another contributing factor to the growing number of veterans seems to be communication among the veterans themselves, Gillan said. In particular, a new student group—Armed Forces at Fordham—helps disseminate information to current and prospective student veterans.

“More than anything else, it’s good word of mouth,” Gillan said. “They’re happy and they’re doing well and that gets communicated in various ways.”

In addition, Gillan said, Fordham’s leap from No. 55 to No. 34 in Military Times EDGE magazine’snational list of the top 100 “veteran friendly” colleges and universities has increased interest in the University.

“We’re beginning to see some increased interest in inquiries because of the fact that we jumped in the rankings,” Gillan said. “We’re the highest-ranking school in New York City.”

Marco Bongioanni, a GSE student who served two tours with the Army in Iraq, said Fordham’s participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program helped guide his decision to apply.

“I was doing research about the GI Bill and saw that Fordham was a Yellow Ribbon school, so that was a motivating factor to make sure I could maximize my benefits,” he said.

Colleges and universities in the Yellow Ribbon Program can voluntarily fund up to 50 percent of tuition and fees not covered by the basic $17,500 included in the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The Department of Veterans Affairs then matches the school’s contribution.

Fordham contributes the maximum amount—50 percent—and also does not cap the number of veterans who can benefit from this program.

“[Fordham has been] very active from day one,” Bongioanni said. “Very positive, very proactive. And it’s increased since I’ve been here. There are even more activities and programs that the administration has begun that show how much they support veterans.”

“What a typical student veteran is looking for is institutional commitment—a financial one, and Fordham’s participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program speaks directly to that,” Gillan said.

But even more than financial commitment, students are looking for a school that will support their overall well-being—something that Gillan said a Jesuit institution can accomplish.

“Jesuit schools have the capability of doing better than most because of that great tradition that infuses everything in a Jesuit school, namely the term cura personalis,” he said. “That real care for the person expressed in many, many ways—in the classroom, out of the classroom—that is extremely important to all students.

“It’s particularly valuable to men and women who have served and need a little extra in that regard to transition from desert to desk. And you see it. You see it every day.”

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Edge4Vets Eases Transition from Military Vet to Student https://now.fordham.edu/university-news/edge4vets-eases-transition-from-military-vet-to-student/ Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:29:46 +0000 http://news.fordham.sitecare.pro/?p=31600
Veteran James Thomas (left), an FCLS sophomore, channels his younger self in an Edge4Vets exercise designed to help veterans tap into the values they developed as soldiers. Edge4Vets is directed by the GSE’s Tom Murphy, center. Photo by Bruce Gilbert

Fordham University has launched a new program to help its student-veterans transition into non-military life.

The Edge4Vets program, designed to assist United States military veterans in the difficult adjustment from life soldiering to life in the classroom, gets underway this semester with a series of monthly workshops at Fordham. The program kicked off on Aug. 30 with a special event at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Midtown Manhattan, attracting some 60 veterans currently enrolled at Fordham. Also attending were representatives from United War Veterans, Iraq Afghanistan Veteran’s of America and the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs.

The program grew out of the Graduate School of Education’s Human Resiliency Institute and is co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Social Service and Fordham’s Veterans Initiative.

“Some of our students are coming from desert fatigues to a college desk in as little as 30 days,” said Tom Murphy, director of the Human Resiliency Institute. “They were in a fixed environment, where their hair was cut, their clothes were standard, where rules and policies were set for them. But now they are in civilian society and in college, which is a highly fluid environment. We want to help them navigate school life and beyond with as much success as possible.”

To do this, Murphy said, the program builds on the resiliency strengths that veterans learned from the military, such as self-discipline, adaptability, optimism, tact and leadership. It helps them develop tools from those strengths that can be used in the classroom and ultimately applied to other life transitions.

At the opening event, veterans were asked to reflect on their younger, pre-enlistment selves as a means of understanding the effects that military service has had on their life outlook and value systems.

Veteran Daniel Hodd, a junior in the Gabelli School of Business (GSB) and president of Fordham’s Veterans Group, noted one issue veterans face: As soldiers, they are taught to subrogate one’s own needs for the needs of the unit; in a university environment, however, individuality seems to be rewarded.

“It causes a conflict,” said the reservist who served two tours in Iraq.

Marine veteran Gary Kucinich, a GSB sophomore who served in Helsinki, Ethopia and Iraq, said it was difficult after nearly six years out of school to “get the hang” of being a student.

“We sit next to teens who have been going to school since they were five without skipping a beat,” he said. “We’ve seen the world and we’ve been living on our own. So it takes some time to get used to the academic and social side of things.”

Edge4Vets is expected to become a model program for other college campuses across the nation, now that 300,000 veterans returning to the United States annually from overseas will be eligible for the G.I. Bill.

Fordham enrolls approximately 235 veterans. For its outreach and support efforts, the University recently was ranked 55th nationally in the Military Times listing of “veteran-friendly” institutions.

“Each time that the United States has taken up arms, Fordham has been there for those returning veterans,” said Michael Gillan, Ph.D., co-chair of the FordhamVets Task Group. “We will do as much as we can to enable these men and women to have a smooth transition.”

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Fordham to Expand Opportunities for Veterans https://now.fordham.edu/inside-fordham/fordham-to-expand-opportunities-for-veterans/ Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:30:00 +0000 http://news.fordham.sitecare.pro/?p=12354 A program for returning veterans seeking a Fordham education will be launched this fall.

FordhamVets, an initiative including the University’s undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, will ensure that academic and support programs are as “veteran-friendly” as possible.

Fordham also has committed to participating in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Yellow Ribbon Program. This provision of the GI Bill encourages degree-granting institutions to provide tuition assistance to veterans above standard VA education benefits.

Designing and implementing FordhamVets are the responsibilities of a task group appointed by Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. The group is co-chaired by Michael Gillan, Ph.D., dean of the undergraduate college for adults, and Peter Vaughan, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Social Service.

Members include student service and financial aid officials, as well as Steven Dougherty, the past president of Laurel House, who attended Fordham’s earlier program for Vietnam-era veterans, eventually earning his doctorate. Another member is Paul Tobin, currently pursuing his master’s in social work at Fordham, who is president of the United Spinal Association and leads the service organization VetsFirst.

Juan Fortes of the New York State Division of Veterans Affairs will serve as an adviser to the group.

“Fordham has always served the veteran population,” Gillan said. “With so many coming home and getting on with their lives, we want to make sure we are ready to help them.”

Vaughan, a Vietnam War veteran, said, “I can think of few things more important than assisting these men and women to achieve their goals.”

Involving all three of the University’s campuses, FordhamVets’ first event will be an open house at Fordham Westchester, to be scheduled later this spring.

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