Syracuse University will continue its tradition of lending resources to military veterans with the opening of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

SU officially introduced the IVMF at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Lender Auditorium at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Following the ceremony, which featured five guest speakers, those who attended were invited to view the official ribbon cutting at the front entrance of the University College building, where the IVMF will be housed. Guests were then invited into the building for a tour of the IVMF facilities and refreshments. Speakers included Mike Haynie, executive director of the IVMF; Chancellor Nancy Cantor; Frank Bisignano, JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief administrative officer; Sean Galloway, president of the SU Student Veterans Club; and retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston, IVMF advisory board member.

‘While this institute and the initiatives are new, taking care of our veterans and our service members is not something new to Syracuse University,’ Preston said. ‘I am proud of this university’s legacy of service.’

This idea was echoed by each of the five speakers, who all referenced SU’s longstanding history with veterans.

‘Syracuse University has a very long history with veterans. In fact, it is veterans that made Syracuse University the school it is today,’ said Haynie, Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship. ‘Chancellor Tolley basically opened the doors of Syracuse University up to returning war veterans from World War II and more than 10,000 veterans came to the campus, and today that group represents some of our most distinguished alumni.’

The institute, which is a joint project between SU and JPMorgan Chase, was launched in June 2011.

Frank Bisignano, co-chairman of the IVMF advisory board, said when SU approached JPMorgan Chase with the idea for the IVMF, it was immediately interested, as it corresponded directly with some of the banking company’s initiatives, like its 100,000 jobs mission for veterans.

Chancellor Nancy Cantor made reference to the various programs SU has for veterans, including the defense comptrollership program, the military photojournalism program, the national security studies program and the global enterprise technology curriculum that was recently developed alongside JPMorgan Chase.

Many of the guest speakers spoke about what it means to be a post-9/11 veteran and discussed the difficulties that come along with making the transition back into the civilian sector. With the IVMF, veterans enrolling at the university will have the extra assistance needed to make the adjustment.

‘When I got home and out of the Marines, I felt isolated,’ said Sean Galloway, president of the SU Student Veterans Club. ‘I didn’t know any other Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, but when I got here to Syracuse, there were veterans here at University College at the Veteran’s Center, so it made my transition from combat to classroom easy.’

Haynie said the IVMF has three major goals: developing educational programming, performing academic research and increasing employment opportunities for veterans.

On Friday, also Veterans Day, the second Veterans Day Ceremony will be held at Hendricks Chapel.

The SU football game against the University of South Florida on Friday will be a salute to veterans, Haynie said. He also said soldiers will be coming from Fort Drum to attend the game and that head coach Doug Marrone is making two veterans honorary captains for Friday’s game.

cffabris@syr.edu

Published on November 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Casey: cffabris@syr.edu | @caseyfabris