ECSU plans to
open Veterans Center in spring
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE--Elizabeth City State University administrators plan to roll out the
welcome mat in spring at a facility that will service the men and women of the
military.
This veterans
center will stand as a one-stop center for veterans, active duty and reserve
members of military. It will be housed in a structure that has served the
university’s Military Science Department since 1985 and has a storied history of
its own. It is a former Rosenwald School. Structures like this one originally
served as schoolhouses for black children in the rural South. Julius Rosenwald,
a philanthropist and former Sears, Roebuck and Co. president, partnered with
Tuskegee Institute to construct more than 5,300 of the structures for
educational and residential purposes before the program’s end in 1932. While
many fell to age and abandonment, this one remained a fixture on a vibrant
college campus.
Before
administrators hold the grand opening reception, the building must undergo
renovation. James Dockery, interim director of ECSU’s Division of Human
Resources and a proponent of the veterans center, said plans are taking shape
for the new center.
“We are
looking to strip away paint and create this one-stop shop for veterans. This
will be a place where they can do their registration for (ECSU) classes and a
place where they can meet and share experiences,” Dockery said. “There are
places in the nation that are veteran friendly. We really want Elizabeth City to
be a place that is truly veteran friendly.”
Dockery
served 23 years in the U.S. Air Force and is confident that a veterans center
would be a wonderful addition to the university. The facility, located in the
heart of campus, is a short distance from instruction halls, the bookstore and
the library. ECSU currently employs 30 veterans and has several veterans
enrolled as students. The university is one of several in the state that would
like to welcome thousands of military members who come to North Carolina for
training or for retirement.
“Other than
Fayetteville State University, we are the only school (in the University of
North Carolina system) located near a large military installation. This is an
opportunity to serve those who serve us,” Dockery said. “We’ve already reached
out to the Coast Guard, our neighbors down the street.”
He said
Chancellor Charles L. Becton and ECSU’s executive leadership team toured the
Coast Guard base. Leaders from the base have visited ECSU, viewed the facilities
and talked with people on campus.
The budding
relationship contributed to the selection of two recent speakers at ECSU. Cmdr.
Warren D. Judge, a 1997 ECSU graduate who has served 27 years with the Coast
Guard, spoke at the Veteran’s Day program in November, and Vice Adm. Manson K.
Brown was the December 2013 Commencement speaker. Dockery emphasized that the
veterans center will welcome people from all branches of the nation’s military.
Counseling on educational benefits for veterans will be offered. The goal is to
provide a smooth transition from military to college life for veterans, active
duty service members, Reserve or National Guard, military dependents, survivors
and families.
“I believe
society as a whole owes a special debt to the men and women who serve in the
military,” he said. “ECSU is committed to recognizing that special debt. In
Elizabeth City, we live in a unique community -- a college town and a military
town. I would like to see the entire community rally around this opportunity to
better serve the men and women of the military. I am excited to be here and
helping.”
Photo
caption: A familiar structure on campus, a former Rosenwald School house which
most recently housed the Military Science Department, will soon serve as the new
veterans center at ECSU.
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Kesha
Williams
Director
of Media Relations| University Relations and Marketing
Elizabeth
City State University
1704
Weeksville Rd. | Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Phone:
252.335.3686 | Fax: 252.335.3769
