UAF establishes new department to support military students

August 16, 2018

UAF photo by JR Ancheta. Student assistant Cierra Blalock helps ROTC cadets Robert Olinger, center, and Dalton Stone, right, with paperwork at the UAF Department of Military and Veteran Services office. The new office suite is in Room 104 of the Eielson Building.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has established a new Department of Military and Veteran Services to support veterans, military students and their families.

The DMVS will provide a variety of coordinated services for veterans during their time at UAF. Those efforts will include help with educational benefits earned through military service, peer mentoring and paperwork. The department will also give veteran students a place where they can connect with other veterans.

DMVS Director Jackie Morton said it’s important to give veterans a supportive environment. Many are older than traditional students and sometimes haven’t taken core subjects in several years.

With those challenges in mind, DMVS plans to offer veterans tutoring opportunities and help with navigating the university system. The department will also provide monthly professional development sessions on subjects like veterans benefits and other relevant topics.

“Sometimes the college experience is a new one for veterans, and we want to help their experience go as smoothly as possible,” said Morton, a certified school counselor and a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. “We don’t want them to feel like they’re alone in this process.”

The new department is located in a renovated office suite at Room 104 of UAF’s Eielson Building.