Statement of need and purpose
Developed in partnership with the Pat Tillman Veterans’ Center, the Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagemnt (OVMAE) is designed to connect veterans and university communities and to identify and create venues that reflect veterans’ voices and experiences. Today less than one percent of our society serves in the armed forces or is a dependent of those service members. The American model of civil-military relations assumes an important role for civilians and civilian politicians in the making of war, foreign and security policy, but, especially since the move toward the all-volunteer army, the gap between civilian and military cultures has been growing dangerously wide.
OVMAE will strive to address that gap by providing opportunities for our “traditional” students, faculty and staff to listen to the stories of those who have experienced war and military service through support of oral history projects. Listening to Veterans’ stories, makes the humanities and arts the core of its vision, but the office also seeks to engage with colleagues in other disciplines, above all the social sciences and professional schools, who are also learning from and about Veterans in their own research and teaching. Because Veterans, like all students, come from diverse backgrounds, face diverse challenges and have diverse ambitions, the Office seeks to provide diverse paths to student success but also to work toward a holistic approach to Veteran students and their educational paths at ASU.
