Temple University’s Military and Veteran Services Center (MVSC) was developed to not only be a safe space for the university’s military-connected students, but also a resource that positively impacts their entire higher education experience.
For the third consecutive year, Temple has been named one of the country’s best colleges for veterans by U.S. News & World Report. The mission of the MVSC is to develop programs and streamline services to enhance the educational experience for military-connected individuals and their spouses, dependents and survivors.
The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides benefits that can include up to 100 percent tuition and fee coverage, which can be passed on to spouses and dependents, and in some cases, also includes a housing allowance.
“This center provides a central place where our veteran, active duty and dependents can socialize, come for support programs, find information, meet with employers and plan activities,” says Debbie Campbell, senior vice dean of the Temple University Fox School of Business and Management and Temple Veteran Association (TVA) faculty adviser.
In 2009, Campbell set about convincing all of the deans in the university’s schools and colleges of the benefits of becoming a Yellow Ribbon institution, which provides extra benefits for Post 9/11 veterans.
“Once the university signed on, we realized that we would be attracting larger numbers of veterans, so a Veteran Taskforce was formed in summer 2010,” says Campbell, who became co-chair of the task force.
The taskforce continues to meet monthly – except in the summer – with representatives from all of the student support offices and college representatives who support military-connected students across all of Temple’s campuses and programs. The TVA is open to all veterans, active duty and dependents at Temple.
