November 09, 2016

State System universities hosting Veterans Day events

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

“Each year on Veterans Day we recognize and honor true American heroes, those who have literally put their lives on the line to protect our nation and to preserve our freedom,” said State System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan. “Our campuses are filled with these courageous men and women, without whose service and sacrifice the rest of us would not be able to enjoy the lives we do.

“We are grateful both to those who have served in the various branches of the military and to those who are serving now. We are especially honored to be able to provide to our student veterans educational opportunities and other important resources to assist them as they prepare to move on to the next phase of their lives. We thank each and every one of them for their service, not just on Veterans Day, but every day.”

The following events are planned by each of the universities to celebrate Veterans Day:

Bloomsburg University will hold a free breakfast Friday morning for military students, faculty, staff and supporters, followed by the Veterans Suicide Prevention Walk starting at the Academic Quad. Members of the Bloomsburg University Student Veterans Association, BU military faculty and staff, military supporters and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity members will walk to raise suicide awareness and funding for the National Alliance to End Veteran Suicide. Participants will seek to raise $3,500 during the walk. The Friday events will conclude a week of campus activities recognizing military veterans.

Lt. Col. Jon Brierton, a 1994 alumnus, will be the guest speaker at California University of Pennsylvania’s 43rd annual Veterans Dinner at 6 p.m., today, in the Convocation Center. Brierton entered full-time military service in 1996. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and to Afghanistan in 2012 and now serves as installations management directorate strategic planner for the Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve, based near Washington, D.C. University President Geraldine Jones signed a proclamation designating this week Military and Veterans Appreciation Week at Cal U. More than 50 outdoor banners honoring service members and veterans with ties to Cal U are on display on campus throughout the month. Thank you packages and notes of appreciation also are being delivered to service members around the world who are enrolled in Cal U Global Online.

Cheyney University will hold a Veterans Day remembrance program at 12:30 p.m., Friday, in the lobby of Marcus Foster. The event will include remarks, a moment of silence and the playing of Taps in memory of all of those who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military.

Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Dan Smith will speak at Clarion University’s annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m., Thursday, near the apple sculpture on campus. The university's six newly contracted ROTC cadets will be honored during the event. University President Karen Whitney also will give remarks. In the case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Gemmell Student Complex in room 250/252.

Retired Sgt. Maj. Claudette Williams will present the keynote address at East Stroudsburg University’s annual Veterans Day Celebration at 2 p.m., Thursday, in room 117 of Stroud Hall. During her 30 years of military service, Williams achieved the rank of sergeant major, a position held by the highest enlisted members of the U.S. Army, and a rank attained by less than one percent of members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Williams served in Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. After the program, attendees will proceed to the Julia statue on the front circle of campus for a wreath-laying ceremony. A reception will follow in the foyer of Zimbar-Liljenstein Hall. The Student Enrollment Center and the ESU Student Veterans Center planned the day’s events.

The Edinboro University ROTC will conduct a three-volley salute and flag-folding ceremony at 11 a.m., Friday, on the front lawn of Reeder Hall. Immediately following the military observance, University President H. Fred Walker and Lt. Col. Marc Beckage, professor of military science, will speak on the importance of Veterans Day, the contributions of the Fighting Scots Battalion and the value of veterans on campus and in the community. Sgt. 1st Class Nathaniel Wilson, a veteran student, will then speak about the importance of family in the military and as a veteran. A reception will follow in the lobby of Reeder Hall.

The Veterans Day observance will be followed by the third annual Pets and Vets, hosted by the Edinboro University Student Veterans Association. The second annual pet adoption and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) awareness fair will be held in the gymnasium of the Frank G. Pogue Student Center through 3 p.m. Pets for Vets is dedicated to rescuing, training and pairing shelter pets as companions for veterans. Shelter animals in need of new homes will be available, and applications will be accepted for those wishing to adopt.

The Military and Veterans Resource Center at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is featuring an electronic photo display of faculty, staff, students and family service members all this week in the library. The MVRC also hosted a resource fair and lunch for veterans, active service members and military affiliated faculty, staff and students Monday in the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.

Veterans Awareness Week at Kutztown University will include a flag raising ceremony at 7:35 a.m., Friday, and a flag lowering ceremony that afternoon at 4:30 p.m., on the Schaeffer front lawn. Members of the Military Club at KU will perform both ceremonies. Other highlights of the week will include a women veterans tribute at 1 p.m., Wednesday, in the McFarland Student Union lobby; a Veterans Entrepreneurship Workshop at noon, Friday, in room 157 of the student union; and a student veteran panel discussion at 11 a.m., Saturday, also in MSU room 157. Veterans will receive free admission to the football game at 1.p.m., Saturday, in Andre Reed Stadium.

Lock Haven University will hold its second Veteran’s Benefits Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, in the Student Recreation Center. Numerous vendors will be onsite to discuss services available to veterans and their dependents, including the VFW Benefit Center, Canine Partners for Life, Veteran Multi-Service Center, Centre/Clinton County Department of Veterans Affairs and Horses of Hope. The expo also will feature guest speakers at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Thomas A. Brown, Pennsylvania Department of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) State Commander, will speak at the Mansfield University Veterans Appreciation Luncheon at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, in North Manser Hall. Brown served in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve from 1950-56 and 1957-67 with the Sixth and Seventh Fleets. His spent time in Cuba and Germany. After the luncheon, a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the university’s Student Veterans of America Military Resource Center will be held in Alumni Hall, Room 138. The Mansfield University Mountaineer Brass Band, under the direction of Nathan Rinnert, will present a concert honoring U.S. military veterans at 1:30 p.m., Friday, at the VA Hospital Auditorium in Bath, N.Y. Mansfield University President Fran Hendricks, who served 33 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Brigadier General, will speak to students Friday at Troy Area Junior/Senior High School at a Veterans Day Assembly.

The Student Veteran's Association at Millersville University will host a lunch for student veterans at Mercer House on campus. Mercer House is a place for veterans to share past experiences with other veterans, to host meetings, and to have a quiet place to study.

Maj. Christopher Morton, professor and chair of Shippensburg University’s Department of Military Science will speak at the annual Veterans Day ceremony, hosted by the Army ROTC Raider Battalion, and scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., Friday, in the Ceddia Union Building. A luncheon hosted by the Shippensburg chapter of Student Veterans of America will follow the event. ROTC and SVA members participated in the Shippensburg Veterans Day Parade held Sunday.

State Rep. Jake Wheatley Jr., D-Allegheny, a decorated veteran of 1991's Operation Desert Storm, will be the keynote speaker at Slippery Rock University’s Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m., Friday, at the Veterans Memorial in front of the Russell Wright Alumni House. SRU President Cheryl Norton will offer remarks and introduce Wheatley, while SRU ROTC cadets will raise the colors, lay a wreath at the memorial and fire a 21-gun salute. The SRU Marching Pride will play Taps. The celebration will begin with a Veterans Day Breakfast from 8:30-10:30 a.m., in the Smith Student Center Ballroom. The event is open to the public.

The Student Veterans Group has partnered with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at West Chester University to conduct “Operation Happy Holidays,” a donation drive to benefit Stockings for Soldiers, collecting non-perishable food and comfort items including sunscreen and toiletries. The items are being accepted through Friday and will be boxed up for shipment to military personnel. The university also will hold what artist Sally Van Orden hopes will be an annual Veterans Art Workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. The sixth annual Military Scholarship ceremony and breakfast was held Saturday, at which $22,000 in scholarships were awarded to student veterans.

More information on the various Veterans Day events and activities is available by visiting the individual university websites.

The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield (Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.