The Office of Human Resources is holding a luncheon today at the Faculty Club for Ohio State faculty and staff veterans in celebration of Armed Forces Day.
The luncheon allows the veteran community, which is spread throughout campus, to come together, said Michael Forrest, the program director of Affirmative Action and Veteran Affairs.
“Students are welcome to come, but we are recognizing the faculty who served their country,” he said. And they deserve it, because the students have been getting more attention this year than in years past. Human Resources and the Veteran Affairs Department have been focusing the majority of their attention on the 550 currently enrolled students who are receiving financial assistance from the G.I. Bill, Forrest said.
The government now directly pays the university the veterans’ tuition, compared to previous systems that gave the money to the veterans, who then paid the school, he said.
Trying to work with the government as it slowly figured out the kinks with the new bill, including sending late checks to OSU, has been a struggle for Forrest and the rest of his office, but “everything has been clearing up,” he said.
However, on Armed Forces Day, six students will be recognized along with the faculty and staff at the luncheon, and given a $500 scholarship as recipients of the Arnold Sukrow Award, Forrest said.
The winners of the award were picked by a committee comprised of five veteran professors and administrators from various departments throughout the university, Forrest said.
Aletha Reshan, an Emergency Management Planning in Education program coordinator of the OSU extension and a veteran of the Air Force, is one member of this board, and she is very excited about assisting the students, she said.
Recipients of the award are all veteran students who have displayed strong academic performance as well as involvement in community service, she said.
Forrest added that the students must provide a recommendation from a faculty member.
The scholarship money comes from the Campus Campaign, a fundraising initiative driven by faculty donations that benefit the students and departmental needs, Forrest said.
In addition to the awards and opportunity to reconnect with fellow veterans, the luncheon gives Forrest the opportunity to update the community on what has been happening throughout the past year and what is yet to come.
The timing of Armed Forces Day, which was established in the late 1940s by President Truman, is perfect to wrap up the school year because there is little happening during the summer on campus, Forrest said.
Faculty and staff will be curious to hear about the earlier struggles with the adaptation of the new G.I. Bill and to learn when the veteran bonuses that were approved with the passing of Issue 1 in Ohio will be “coming into play,” he said.
There will be 80 veterans present at tomorrow’s luncheon, which has been held on Armed Forces Day since the mid-1990s.
