Part of the recent Texas A&M University System Board of Regents meeting was set aside for a presentation from the Texas Veterans Commission. Executive Director Tom Palladino reported A&M System campuses includes more than 6,000 veterans who receive education funding from the G.I. bill. Statewide, there are 77,000 vets who receive $1 billion dollars in G.I. benefits. Palladino also says Texas is one of a few states that provides education funding for vets through the Hazelwood Exemption.
Texas Veterans Commission Director Tom Palladino addresses the A&M System Board of Regents.
And at the flagship campus, veterans are invited to use the recently opened Veteran Resource and Support Center (VRSC), located in the Koldus building, which was set up to assist more than 600 veterans who are A&M students.
More information about the VRSC is below, courtesy of A&M:
Col. Jerry Smith, USMC (Ret.) and a 1982 Texas A&M graduate, has been selected to lead the effort to help these students make the transition to college life. Smith retired from the Marine Corps this past August. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the Texas A&M Naval ROTC Program in 1982 and returned to Aggieland as professor of naval science in 2008.
“The opportunity to become the director of the newly established Veteran Resource & Support Center (VRSC) provides a uniquely rewarding role in which I can reinforce the Aggie commitment to serving those who have served,” Smith says.
Smith’s new role includes serving as the head of the Texas A&M Troops to College Committee, advisor to the Aggie Student Veterans Association and the architect of the new “Aggie Veteran Network” project. The network will connect veterans on campus and in the community to form a discussion and support system.
“As thousands of service men and women return home from conflict, as we downsize our military and provide veterans with well-earned benefits, we are again welcoming a surge of veterans onto America’s college campuses. The new VRSC will partner with the existing Veteran Services Office to enhance our commitment to current and future Aggie veteran students,” Smith adds.
The new VRSC will work closely with already established services on campus, such as Veteran’s Service Office in financial aid, in order to form the best possible support system for veteran students, he says.
The Veteran Resource and Support Center is located in 112 Koldus Student Services Building and can be reached by calling 979-845-3161 or by e-mail at aggievets@tamu.edu.