George Hanbury: Universities help veterans return to their communities

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVE, FL – Unemployment, homelessness, and mental-health issues face many of our returning veterans because of their sacrifices and service. This month’s three-day “North Florida Stand Down” event, like others around the nation, was an outstanding way to offer our most needy veterans a range of services designed to help them escape the vicious cycle of homelessness.

Fortunately, only a small portion of Florida’s quarter-million veterans from operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom need that level of assistance. But many veterans may have interrupted efforts to pursue their academic dreams and ambitions of attending an institution of higher education when they entered military service.

Re-integrating into their community — our community — is a daunting challenge for those who have risked their lives to protect our freedoms. We must meet this challenge with

human and physical resources — as individuals, as a community and as a nation.

In places such as Tallahassee, or my home community of Fort Lauderdale, our universities play an important role in helping these veterans get back on their feet and return to a normal life.

One of the best ways to help our heroes obtain meaningful employment is to ensure that they are well educated and prepared for the knowledge-based industries that will lead Florida moving forward.

At Nova Southeastern University (NSU), we have almost 800 veterans currently pursuing undergraduate, graduate and medical degrees. One way we make the pursuit of knowledge easier to attain is by matching, dollar for dollar, the Yellow Ribbon G.I. Bill Education Enhancement Program conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. NSU has contributed almost $1 million to this program since 2009, and we are proud to continue providing this type of support.

Many people may not know that the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill allows benefits to be transferred to a spouse or dependent, which is a great option for those who have relatives wishing to pursue a higher education.

NSU is also establishing South Florida’s first Veterans Law Clinic, which will work in a multidisciplinary approach with other university efforts dedicated to empowering the veteran population, such as our Veterans Assistance Center.

Universities are a key to forging innovation and progress. At NSU, we serve as South Florida’s multidisciplinary hub, bringing together the brightest people from many fields to tackle our community’s most difficult challenges. Similarly, in the Big Bend area, Florida State University fulfills a related role through the FSU Veterans Center, which uses veterans to help other veterans and offers such services as priority course registration, a special veterans orientation, a veterans success course and the Collegiate Veterans Association.

The key message expressed by the FSU Veterans Centers is: “Veterans are not broken.” That’s a compelling and important idea. In communities across our state and nation, universities are stepping forward with similar efforts to tell those who sacrificed so much for us: “Let us help.”

Every individual can help, too.

I encourage you to get involved with the “Mission United” campaign created by the United Way and the Red Cross. Individuals, communities, universities and corporations can make a profound impact in their own ways, and I challenge everyone to make a priority of our returning veterans and their families now and in the future. It’s our way of saying thank you. Let’s make Veterans Day every day.

George Hanbury is president of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. NSU also has campuses in Jacksonville, Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Miami and the Bahamas.

Media Contact:
Julie Spechler. M.A. | Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5348 (office)
954-591-3361 (cell)
julies@nova.edu