Gretchen Bataille

The University of North Texas has long been home to a diverse student population, from the student straight out of high school to the working parent.

Because of the political realities of today’s world, more of our students also are veterans, fresh from deployment, likely in a combat zone.

There are nearly 1.5 million military members on active duty, including about 215,000 deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Now with the Post 9/11 GI Bill in effect, colleges and universities across America expect a surge not seen since World War II as more veterans take advantage of the expanded assistance for educational costs. About 150,000 veterans are expected to enroll in the program this year alone, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Through our Veterans Center, UNT is not just welcoming these student veterans, we are offering a hub of support and resources to help smooth their transition from military to college life. As it is with all of our students, our goal is to get these veterans into the workforce with a degree and a limitless future.

Meeting needs

Returning or going to college for a veteran is not just a matter of filling out paperwork and registering for classes. Those who were deployed in a combat zone often face the shock of re-entry into our world, and the social and emotional problems that can come with it.

Our center, and the environment it offers, is one way we hope to neutralize that shock. 

Our center will serve as the starting point for students to get the help they need. Staff, many of whom will be student veterans themselves, will direct them to the necessary resources or the appropriate department or agency, whether it’s to find out how to navigate the Post 9/11 GI Bill, figure out which state and local benefits they may receive, or to seek help for counseling.

But the center will exist as more than an access point to information. We hope it will become the heart of the student veteran community, giving them a place to gather as well as a support network.

The Veterans Center expands upon the work of UNT’s 100-member Student Veterans Association and capitalizes on UNT staff members’ expertise, which includes a team in our Registrar’s Office that has detailed understanding of the new GI bill benefits.

More than 600 veterans received VA educational benefits last year. And we know there are more veterans in our student population who may need our help and aren’t as easily identifiable.

In fact, one of our veterans is our vice president for finance and administration, Andrew Harris, who has served in the National Guard for nearly 20 years. And soon, he will deploy again to Afghanistan with the battalion he leads.

To support him while he serves our country, we are shifting our resources and manpower. And we will welcome him home with pride and open arms. He, like all of our veterans — students, staff and faculty — is an important and valued member of our family.

Making progress

This ability to meet our UNT family’s needs and to adapt to our ever-changing student population is part of our culture of success. The Veterans Center is just one more important way we are keeping our students’ success our central focus.

Our ability to evolve and progress with vision and purpose recently earned us a spot on the U.S. News & World Report’s “Top Up-and-Coming Schools” list, which singles out schools getting notice for their innovative changes. UNT tied for ninth place among public national universities and is the only public Texas university to make the list, which is part of U.S. News’ special report, “America’s Best Colleges 2010.”

This ranking proves that people are paying attention to our advances and valuing our excellence as a comprehensive research university.

As we begin this new academic year, I am certain that UNT will continue this momentum while providing an intellectually stimulating and supportive environment for our nearly 35,000 students. This rich environment includes thought-provoking lectures, world-class concerts, exhibitions and entertaining dance and theater performance and extends to the Denton community.

I invite each of you to take advantage of our many enriching opportunities and to take part in our progress.

GRETCHEN M. BATAILLE is the president of the University of North Texas, the state’s fourth-largest university.