Veterans Week flag raising on the Mall 2014

UMaine to honor veterans with week of events

October 29, 2015 Outreach, Student Life

Editor’s note: updated version, Nov. 6, 2015

The University of Maine will recognize veterans with a week of events to coincide with Veterans Day, Nov. 11. The activities are coordinated by the UMaine Office of Veterans Education and Transition Services (VETS) and UMaine Veterans Association.

“I have come to know student-veterans at UMaine, and they represent a dedication and sense of service that is exemplary and serves as an example for other students,” says UMaine President Susan Hunter. “I am firm in the belief that, as the state’s flagship university, the University of Maine has a responsibility to be a veteran-friendly community. In partnership with UMaine student-veterans and veteran organizations statewide, we are actively engaged in working to ensure that we provide a welcoming, accessible and supportive environment.”

UMaine Veterans Week activities will begin at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9 with a dedication of a new display in the Memorial Room of the Memorial Union. The memorial, which was designed and produced in UMaine’s IMRC Center, will be unveiled by a student-veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom Army. Robert Dana, UMaine’s vice president for student life and dean of students, will share remarks.

The dedication will be followed by the annual flag raising on the Mall beginning at noon, and a barbecue sponsored by the VFW, UMVA and Student Life.

“This week of events is not only a great opportunity to get the word out to student-veterans about the resources offered, but it also raises awareness in the campus community of the hundreds of student-veterans who are here, contributing to UMaine and their communities,” says senior Matt Murphy of Hermon, Maine, president of the University of Maine Veterans Association.

A highlight of Veterans Week is getting veterans together and reigniting the camaraderie shared in the service, says Thomas Hayden of Litchfield, Maine, an international affairs major. The events of Veterans Week, as well as UMVA meetings/events help foster that fellowship, he says.

“The UMaine veteran community is one community amongst a family of communities,” says Hayden, who served eight years in the Army and Army National Guard, with two deployments to Iraq. “These events remind our student-veterans that, although they no longer serve, they are still respected and valued, as much as they were when they were actively serving.”

Classes, except those that meet once a week on Wednesdays, will be canceled on Veterans Day.

The University of Maine has been designated a 2016 Military Friendly® School, making it the fifth year the institution has been on the list. For seven years, the Military Friendly® Schools designation has provided service members and their families with transparent, data-driven ratings about post-military education and career opportunities. The designation is awarded by Victory Media, a leader in successfully connecting the military and civilian worlds, and publisher of G.I. Jobs®, STEM Jobs and Military Spouse.

The Military Friendly® Schools designation is awarded to the top colleges, universities, community colleges and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace military students, and to dedicate resources to ensure their success both in the classroom and after graduation. Today, UMaine is home to 250 students who are veterans or active-duty service members.

“The University of Maine has a tremendous commitment to serving veterans,” says retired Admiral Gregory “Grog” Johnson, a UMaine alumnus and member of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees. “We recognize their contributions and breadth of experience, and appreciate how they enrich our communities, classrooms and student life statewide.”

Other UMaine Veterans Week activities include:

  • Tuesday, Nov. 10 — Free lunch vouchers will be available to student veterans throughout the day; vouchers can be picked up at the VETS office and used at the Bear’s Den in the Memorial Union. Free coffee and doughnuts provided by Dunkin’ Donuts will be available at the office in the morning.
  • 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 — A Veterans Day 5K to honor those who serve and protect the country will start at the New Balance Student Recreation Center. The race is free for all veterans and active duty service members, and $15 for the general public. Registration and more information are online.
  • 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12 — Outside the Wire, a social impact company, will present a performance of “Theater of War” at the Bangor Opera House. “Theater of War” is an innovative public health project that presents readings of ancient Greek plays, Sophocles’ “Ajax” and “Philoctetes,” as a catalyst for town hall discussions about the challenges faced by service members, veterans, their families, caregivers and communities. A free bus will transport UMaine students between Orono and the Bangor Opera House. The bus will leave from the Collins Center for the Arts at 6 p.m. and return around 9:30 p.m. More information is online.
  • Noon–1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 — The annual veterans luncheon will feature guest speaker Adria O. Horn, director of the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services, in the Lown Room of the Memorial Union.

For more information or to request a disability accommodation, contact Tony Llerena, VETS coordinator and school certifying official for veterans, at 581.1316 or tony.llerena@maine.edu.