Mason boasts University of Iowa's student veteran services

As the number of student veterans at the University of Iowa continues to grow,  President Sally Mason said Tuesday the university is committed to expanding opportunities on campus for this diverse group.

"An important mission of the Military and Veteran Student Services is to shift us from being a campus that has compassion for its veterans to one that depends on its veterans," Mason said. "You're a part of us and very much a part of the fabric of this great university."

Mason,whose father was a World War II veteran, UI officials and Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, attended an open house for the newly remodeled Military and Veterans Student Services office.

In addition to further technologies for the center, the office is launching more programs to address the diversity of the UI's more than 550 student veterans. A program for women veterans is set to launch this spring along a program for veterans in the  LGBTQ community.

 Allen Roberts, military and veteran educational specialist, said he wants to help student veterans find their niche on campus, outside of being a student veteran.

"The veteran population is a very dynamic population," said Roberts, who has served four years in the military.

Roberts recently launched a program for faculty and staff on campus about military culture to better understand and assist student veterans.

Loebsack said that it's crucial for today's veterans to have strong support programs as they return from deployment and, with their unique experiences, adjust to student life.  Loebsack, who serves on the House Armed Forces Committee, said the UI's efforts are very expansive.

"The university is very far a long, head and shoulders above, in the services they provide," he told The Gazette.

And students are taking note. Michael Considine, president of the UI Veterans Association said he and other veterans appreciate services such as in-state tuition for all veterans (a move by the Iowa legislature) and the support of officials like President Mason.

“Its nice to know the university has our back,” Considine said.