UW-Whitewater honors veterans with week of events

November 4, 2009

They walk the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan for their country and they walk Prairie Street and Starin Road in Whitewater for their education. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will honor veterans November 3-11 with Veterans Recognition Week.

Elizabeth Watson, veterans week coordinator and director of the Center for Students with Disabilities, said that in years past UW-Whitewater celebrated Veterans Day with different events all across campus.

"No one thing captures all student veterans," she said. "This week will be the effort of many offices coming together with events to bring a larger campus awareness of our veterans."

The celebration's events vary from panel discussions about veteran experiences to a resource and benefits fair for veterans. There will also be an art exhibit on display in the Roberta A. Fiskum Art Gallery. The exhibit, "The Fallen Soldiers Project," honors fallen soldiers from Wisconsin and is the work of Appleton artist Tim Mayer.

Watson said the events on campus are to honor student veterans, as well as faculty, staff and community members who are veterans.

"We want to have an open door to the community because we realize there are community veterans who support UW-Whitewater as well as faculty and staff members who are vets," she said.

Watson hopes that through Veterans Recognition Week all of campus will realize the effect veterans have on UW-Whitewater's campus.

"This is a chance for us to recognize a unique student population on campus and the diversity that these veterans bring to our campus," she said.

The celebration will wrap up on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, with a veterans recognition ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Alumni Center. During the ceremony UW-Whitewater will be recognized as a military-friendly university. Veterans who show military identification will be provided with free lunch at any UW-Whitewater dining facility as part of the day. The day will close at 5 p.m. in the Summers Auditorium, with guest speaker Ben Collins sharing his experience as a Green Beret in Afghanistan.

All events of Veterans Recognition Week are open to the public and most are free. Veterans Recognition Week events at UW-Whitewater:

• Oct. 30 – Nov. 11, “The Fallen Soldiers Project,” Roberta A. Fiskum Art Gallery; For gallery hours visit http://uc.uww.edu/fiskum/
• 1 p.m., Nov. 7, Football game, UW-Whitewater vs. UW-Oshkosh, Perkins Stadium, Veterans and families provided free tickets, contact Jan Nordin, nordinj@uww.edu
• 6-8 p.m., Nov. 9, Student Panel: UW-Whitewater Veterans’ Firsthand Accounts, Involvement Center in the James R. Connor University Center
• 10 a.m. – 1p.m., Nov. 10, Veterans Benefits and Resources Fair, James R. Connor University Center Commons
• All day, Nov. 11, Various events, For a complete list of events visit, blogs.uww.edu/career/