NewsletterH

The University of Kansas has a long tradi-tion of military service by its students, alumni, faculty and staff. The memorials across our campus commemorating the service and lives lost by Jayhawks in our nation’s wars remind us of the sacrifices made by our military veterans. Until re-cently, we did not have an alumni chapter that celebrated our combined service from the unique perspective of being proud Jayhawks.

That has changed.

Welcome to the inaugural newsletter for the KU Veterans Alumni Chapter (KU-VAC) and thank you for joining our chap-ter. We hope you will reach out to others and help us grow. Here’s a little about your KUVAC:

Who: We serve all member of the Uni-versity of Kansas community who have served, are serving, or have an affiliation with the U.S. Armed Forces. Even if you do not have any direct relationship with a current of past veteran, but you love our country and want to support the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, this is your affinity chapter.

What: We recognize, honor, support and celebrate the combined service of the U.S. Armed Forces, in an affirmative and apolitical manner. We will advance the collegial, educational and professional interests of those veteran students who have selected the University of Kansas as their alma mater.

Why: The chapter develops personal and professional relationships and enhances the KU experience by informing and engaging students and alumni through events and programs designed to have a positive impact for KU. Program goals include:

• Worldwide network—Our goal is to es-tablish a worldwide network of KU veter-ans and leadership teams in key locations that can assist with mobilizing veteran alumni into established KU Alumni Association chapters.

• Student Veteran Center—Our goal is to become a recognized national leader in educating student veterans. The founda-tional element of that goal is the establish-ment of a Student Veteran Center and to open the center by fall 2014.

• Wounded Warrior Scholarships—Our goal is to continue to provide scholarships to Wounded Warriors, their children and primary caregivers.

• Endowed Chair, Peace and Conflict Stud-ies—KU is a national leader in military his-tory. We are uniquely situated within 45 miles of the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the WWI Museum in Kansas City. Our strategic location will allow KU to develop a strong and vibrant community of scholars to attract and collaborate with our Endowed Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies. This will allow KU to remain at the forefront for the study of military history.

H KU VAC Mission & Priorities

Fall 2012

Senior Advisory BoardSen. Robert J. Dole, Army, Honorary Board Chairman,

c’45Kenneth L. Audus, Air Force, PhD’84BG Roosevelt Barfield, Army (Ret.), c’85GEN John G. Coburn, Army (Ret.), g’75Col(P) Scott Dold, KS Air National Guard, c’83, l’91BG Michael C. Flowers, Army (Ret.), c’77RADM Mark Heinrich, Navy, g’89, g’89Forrest Hoglund, Army, e’56LTG Keith Kellogg Jr., Army (Ret.), g’77RADM Ed Phillips, Navy (Ret.)COL Ed Reilly, Army (Ret.), c’61BG John C. Reppert, Army (Ret.), g’72MajGen David A. Richwine, USMC (Ret.) c’65MG Jeff Schloesser, Army (Ret.), c’76COL Willard Snyder, Army (Ret.), c’62, l’65MG Butch Tate, Army, c’79, l’82COL Robert Ulin, Army (Ret.), g’79

Executive CommitteeCol Jeff Bowden, USMC (Ret.), c’83MSgt Chris Campbell, USMC (Ret.)CAPT James Cooper, Navy (Ret.), c’74Warren Corman, Navy, e’50Col Mike Denning, USMC (Ret.), Chapter President, c’83COL Todd Ebel, Army (Ret.)Col Greg Freix, Air Force (Ret.), Chapter Vice President,

g’99COL Bernie Kish, Army (Ret.), PhD’98AMB David Lambertson, Department of State (Ret.)CAPT Max Lucas, Navy (Ret.), e’56, g’62LTC Randy Masten, Army (Ret.), Chapter Secretary and

Treasurer, g’03COL James Pottorff, Army (Ret.), l’84

Ex OfficioScott Boland, Army, Collegiate Veterans Association.

c’09, c’10CPT Timothy Hornik, Army (Ret.), Chapter’s Director of

Veterans Affairs, s’11LTC Storm Reynolds, Army, Professor of Military ScienceLtCol Montague Samuel, Air Force, Professor of

Aerospace StudiesCAPT David D. Schweizer, Navy, Professor of Naval

Science

H KU: A Military Friendly School

For the fourth consecutive year, the Uni-versity of Kansas has been designated a Military Friendly School® by Victory Me-dia. The 2013 Military Friendly Schools® list honors the Top 15 percent of colleges and universities in the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and spouses as students, and for working to ensure their success on campus.

As the Military Friendly Schools® list has evolved over the past four years, the schools taking the survey have been held to increasingly higher standards. This year’s list was the most comprehensive evalu-ation to date, because of the improved methodology, criteria and weightings de-veloped with the assistance of an Academ-ic Advisory Board consisting of educators from schools across the country. The 2013 list was compiled through research of more than 12,000 VA-approved schools, which means more than 10,000 schools currently authorized to accept GI Bill money failed to make the cut.

Within the Big 12 Conference, Baylor and the University of Texas failed to make the list. Of those Big 12 schools on the list, only KU, TCU, and Texas Tech were reviewed by their veteran students. KU was the highest rated among the three universities with an overall rating of 3.6 on a 4.0 scale. One KU student veteran commented that “My experience has been great. … The University of Kansas has great institutional support for veter-

ans and a great network of student-veterans dedicated to helping each other. What sets it apart, though, is that the students, faculty, and administrators work closely to create an environment that promotes success for all vets.”

The KU Veterans Chapter is proud of our university’s efforts to provide the highest level of support possible to veteran stu-dents and their family members. We are honored to have KU selected as a Military Friendly School® and the chapter will strive to ensure that our university not only maintains this prestigious title, but continues to set the example for universi-ties across the nation with its broad based approach to veteran student support.

H KU Program Highlight: School of Business and the U.S. Army School of Command Prep.

KU’s School of Business provides a unique leadership development experience through its Executive Education program for U.S. Army colonels and their right-hand sergeants major newly selected for Brigade command.

Begun as a pilot program in January 2010, KU has incorporated the Executive Program into the Army’s Brigade Pre-Command Course curriculum, which is taught at the Army’s School for Command Preparation (SCP) at Fort Leavenworth. The one-week program is spread across 11 programs per year and provides a learn-ing environment and educational experi-ence frequently used in the private sector for leadership development of corporate executives.

Participants learn proven business-world models, which have application to the strategic management and leadership of any large organizations—to include bases and stations, brigades, and depots.

Upon completion of the program, par-ticipants are awarded a certificate at the University of Kansas, proclaiming their recognition by both the School for Com-mand Preparation and the KU School of Business for completion of the accredited Executive Education curriculum.

KU has completed 32 cohort classes, providing instruction to nearly 1,000 U.S. Army colonels and sergeants major. Through this program, the KU School of Business is laying hands on the future generations of U.S. Army general officers.

www.kualumni.org/veterans Facebook: KU Veterans Alumni Chapter

Go online to update your KU military information or to readthe latest Veterans Alumni Chapter news!

Tom Jindra, lecturer for the Executive Leadership Course

H Collegiate Veterans Association (CVA)

The KU CVA is a non-partisan group of military veterans attending the University of Kansas and part of the Student Veter-ans of America. The student organization is dedicated to supporting fellow veterans, current service members, and their fami-lies. The organization mission is to ensure veteran success at KU and in the commu-nity. You can find additional information about the organization at http://www.kuveterans.org.

The KU Collegiate Veterans Association last year expanded the traditional Vet-erans Day activities into a full “Veterans

Week” of events. Some were aimed at student

veterans while others were intended to raise awareness among non-veterans on campus.

The week of sessions on veterans issues and an “Ask

a Vet” table on Wescoe Beach culminated in a walking tour of KU’s war memorials and a Veterans Day 5k Run. The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps also continued its traditions of providing 24-hour vigil over the war memorials and a flag-lowering ceremony in front of Strong Hall.

With the creation of the Veterans Chapter of the KU Alumni Association and with additional planning support from the Vet-erans Services office, this year’s Veterans Week activities will be even more exten-sive. Events planned for the week include expanding informational tables to include experts on resources available to student veterans and a wreath laying ceremony at each of the campus war memorials, among other events.

The culmination of Veterans Week will be the an annual Veterans Day Run Nov. 11. Runners begin at 9 a.m. at South Park on Massachusetts Street, run through the KU campus past the memorials, and return to South Park for food, fun and festivities. All proceeds will support scholarships for Wounded Warriors and their family mem-bers and the KU Memorials Fund. Veterans Run 2011

Jake Robinson, senior PolSci, CVA President

We had a busy summer with both cadets and cadre participating in field training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Eleven cadets completed the rigorous field training program. These cadets have now entered our Professional Officer Course program and are one step closer to receiving their commission as second lieutenants in the Air Force.

Before the fall semester, we were honored to have our Color Guard selected to pres-ent the colors at the 2012 Major League All Star Game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

Our detachment welcomed 33 new cadets to our program, which represents one of the largest documented recruiting classes in the history of KU AFROTC. The cadet wing is now 75 strong.

One of the highlights of the semester so far was the annual KU Heroes Game, now called “Salute to Service,” which was Sept. 15 in Memorial Stadium. The cadets per-formed pushups in the end zone for each KU point scored, and an “Oath Ceremony” for Air Force and Army scholarship and contract cadets was held between the third and fourth quarters, resulting in a standing ovation for our future officers.

On Oct. 2 we held a career fair, which al-lowed our cadets to talk with officers from several career fields. Upcoming events include a field exercise, alumni weekend, several Veterans Day activities and a Joint Military Ball.

On Oct. 20, cadets participated in a Field Leadership Exercise (FLX) at Fort Riley. FLX allows cadets the opportunity to learn tactics, techniques and procedures and operate in a simulated or mock de-ployment environment as well as prepare for field training. On Oct. 27, the detach-ment hosted a Det 280 alumni weekend in conjunction with Homecoming.

As has become our tradition, cadets will participate in several events honoring our veterans. On Nov. 9, there will be a retreat ceremony at Strong Hall followed by a guest speaker. The AFROTC Arnold Air Society will again coordinate 24-hour vigils Nov. 10 and 11 at each of three war memorials on campus, recognizing the sacrifices that so many men and women have made in defending our great country.

H Greetings from AFROTC Detachment 280, the Flying Jayhawk Wing

The weekend concludes with the Nov. 11 Veterans Day Run. Veterans Day activi-ties culminate with the annual “Tribute to Veterans USO-Style” program and dance scheduled for Nov. 17, 6-8:30 p.m. at the Dole Institute. Anyone interested in any of these events should contact our opera-tions officer, Lt. Col. Brian Schroeder, at 785-864-1216 or bschroeder@ku.edu.

Another highlight of our semester will be the Joint (Air Force, Army and Navy) Mili-tary Ball. On Nov. 2, the Flying Jayhawk Wing will recognize nine graduating se-niors: cadets Nicholas Brunkhorst, Britni Charles, Zachary Early, Cole-Christian Holinaty, Kevin Jackson, Brandon John-son, Brian Tabares, Seth Wilson and Grant Worden.

Color Guard at Kauffman Stadium

Salute to Service

Veterans Day Vigil 2011 Veterans Day Retreat 2011

U.S. Army Maj. Adrian Spevak, g’12, an Afghan National Security Forces trainer with the 1st Cavalry Division, was finish-ing up his second deployment to Afghani-stan (and his fourth overall) when he ran into Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Bill Steele, a program assistant in KU’s Office of Graduate Military Programs, last May at Bagram Airfield (both were on deployment). Spevak reflected on his time spent earning a master’s in public ad-ministration (MPA) at KU last year while simultaneously taking

Intermediate Level Instruction (ILE) courses at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth: no easy task.

What led you to KU?

A friend of mine in the Army, Maj. Rob Montgomery, told me about the MPA program at KU and encouraged me to do it after he did it. I wanted to get a master’s degree from a great institution and not simply just check the box on that. KU’s program is among the best public ad-ministration program across the United States.

How did you manage both ILE and KU? You have to have help. And one of the great things about KU is that people come first, not buildings or new computers. They had the best instructors, a great faculty you could interact with. Professor Ray Hummert was great working with me; he was my adviser and he was indispensable.

What did you learn from your studies? We learned different new ways of doing things. Because in the military, when you go through their institutional schooling you’re going to learn one way. But we live in an intensely complex environment. We transitioned away from the cold war where the adversary was quite clear, but now we’re dealing with asymmetric chal-lenges and you need to be able to think outside the box. My time at KU helped me appreciate that, in the sense of looking at different problem sets and interact-ing with different groups and civilians. I learned that you’ve got to be able to reach out to civilians and solicit their expertise within the government public sector.

What was the most challenging part of the program for you? Statistics. That was really hard. The public law course I had to take was tough, too, especially because I had to commute to Topeka. But it was well worth the commute!

H KU Graduate Profile: MAJ Andrian Spevak in Afghanistan

H Wounded Warrior Scholarships

The Jayhawk family is extremely grateful for our service members who have expe-rienced multiple combat deployments and countless sacrifices while defending our nation. These service members have endured hardships and injuries, and some have made the ultimate sacrifice and left grieving family members behind.

KU is committed to assisting these war-riors and their family members through the establishment of KU Wounded War-rior Scholarship Funds. The Wounded Warrior Scholarship Funds will cover tuition, fees, books and a stipend for living expenses.

To be eligible for a scholarship, the ap-plicant must be a military service member (active, reserve, National Guard or vet-eran) who has a combat or hostile-related injury. The scholarship is also open to the spouse, primary caregiver or child of

an eligible veteran or the spouse/child of a service member killed or seriously wounded in the line of duty.

Our goal is to raise $500,000 to endow an appropriate number of scholarship funds that will support wounded warriors in perpetuity. Each scholarship awarded may be renewable for up to four academic years to enable veterans to complete their degrees.

A gift of any size makes a crucial differ-ence and helps us reach our goal to offer scholarships to support wounded warriors and honor their service to our nation. Scholarships are professionally managed by KU Endowment to support students in perpetuity. Donors may select the name of the scholarship fund so you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your name—or the name of a friend, family member or selected honoree— will be remembered forever.

In addition to creating endowed scholar-ship funds, there are opportunities to establish expendable scholarships starting at $25,000. To make a donation of any amount, please contact Jerome Davies at 785-832-7460 or jdavies@kuendowment.org, or visit kuendowment.org/wounded-warriors to make an online gift.

Kortney Clemons

Project Global Officer (Project GO)KU was awarded a $300,000 grant from the Institute of International Education for scholarship support for approxi-mately 22 ROTC students to study one of six critical languages (Arabic, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Persian, Russian and Turkish).

Project GO was designed to improve the language skills, regional expertise and intercultural communication skills of our future military officers through university courses, study abroad and opportunities to experience different cultures.

KU offers instruction in more 40 lan-guages during the academic year, and Project GO funding will enable KU to extend supporting services in the form of additional faculty time, development of specialized curricular materials, dedicated conversation partners, tutors and advising to the Project GO ROTC students. An ROTC student from any university can apply for the KU summer scholarships under this grant.

ARMY ROTC Wall of FameThe University of Kansas Army ROTC hosted its Jayhawk Battalion Alumni Association’s eighth-annual Wall of Fame ceremony in conjunction with the Sept. 15 Salute to Service events.

Four great KU alumni who contributed immensely to the defense of our nation were recognized and inducted into the Wall of Fame.

Those honored as this year’s inductees demonstrate lifelong accomplishments in military and civilian careers. The Wall of Fame ceremony recognizes the outstanding service of KU army veter-ans, strengthens relations with alumni of the program and provides insights to the current cadets regarding their future military service. This year, the ceremony was combined with Family Day for the cadets of the program.

This year’s inductees include retired Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, c’76, former commander of the fabled 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); retired Brig. Gen. Roosevelt Barfield, c’85, former deputy director of Opera-tions and Logistics Directorate for the United States Africa Command; Col. John Campbell, c’87, commander of 635th Regional Support Group, Kansas Army National Guard, and owner of Studdard Moving and Storage Company and Campbell Container Company; and retired Lt. Col. H. David Pendleton, c’81, military analyst and president of the Jayhawk Battalion Alumni Association.

For more information regarding this event, visit KU Army ROTC’s website at: http://www.armyrotc.ku.edu.

Navy ROTC NewsThe University of Kansas Naval ROTC is spearheading a project to construct a Marine Corps obstacle course on West Campus that will be available for train-ing for all KU ROTC branches.

The University has approved the project and KU Endowment provided land for the course. We are currently work-ing to secure funding to complete the course, and the Leavenworth-Jefferson Electric Cooperative of McLouth has generously donated the telephone poles required for the course. The course will be constructed using a local Lawrence contractor and a great deal of Midship-man manpower.

Our goal is to raise another $5,000 and begin construction by the end of November.

In Madison, the Jayhawk Battalion competed in events that included rifle, pistol, sailing, color guard and the en-durance team challenge. The Jayhawks will look to build on their success from earlier this year at the Memphis State Drill Meet where they took first place in the pistol competition, second in sailing and third in the color guard competi-tion. The drill competitions are an excellent opportunity for our Midship-men to compete but also to share in camaraderie with others they will serve with in the fleet.

H ROTC Corner

H Operation Jayhawk Honor

Last spring, students with the Collegiate Veterans Association at KU approached the University with concerns about the deteriorating condition of the three war memorials along Memorial Drive. The Campanile sported graffiti and a generally dirty appearance, while inattentive driv-ers had damaged portions of the Korean Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial was stained and fading.

KU responded with a large-scale cleanup effort that addressed all of these concerns.

This was the first phase in what the CVA is calling “Operation Jayhawk Honor,” an

effort to ensure that KU’s war memori-als are always in a condition that honors those students and faculty who gave their lives in service to this country. The second phase was launched last fall with a $1,000 donation that the CVA provided to KU Endowment to establish a fund that will one day provide continuing resources to ensure that the memorials never fall into disrepair again.

Half of the proceeds from this year’s Vet-erans Day Run will go toward Operation Jayhawk Honor, and KU Endowment has established a website where individuals can contribute to this worthy cause. The address is www.kuendowment.org/ kuveterans.

Korean War Memorial

KU played Texas Christian University Sept. 15 in TCU’s first-ever Big 12 football game. As has been KU’s practice since Sept. 11, 2001, the University and Kansas Athletics recognized current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces and those who have served and are serving in police, fire and other public-service agencies in the annual “Salute to Service” day. Despite a competitive loss to a highly touted TCU team, the weekend was a great success.

While no flyover was available because of Department of Defense constraints, the KU flag made still a dramatic entry, cour-tesy of local sky divers.

The KU Collegiate Veterans Association was recognized with a video board an-nouncement for its work in maintaining KU’s war memorials, Operation Jayhawk Honor. Our Veterans Alumni Chapter was also highlighted, as were the first respond-

ers, past and present, in attendance. The KU Alumni Association was the principal sponsor for the football game.

During a break in play, Air Force Lt. Col. Montague Samuel administered the oath of office to young men and women in the south end zone, as they committed to ROTC contracts and subsequent commissioning as second lieutenants in the US Army and US Air Force following graduation.

The musical highlight of the day was pro-vided by KU’s Marching Jayhawks, who ended the halftime show with a medley of service songs from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force. The band transitioned between each song to create formations symbolic of each ser-vice branch. Current and former members of each service were invited to stand and be recognized as their respective service’s song played.

H KU “Salute to Service” Football Game

H Get a KU VAC Challenge Coin!

Your support as a KU Alumni Association member helps fund programs like the Veterans Alumni Chapter. If you have questions about your current membership levels or how to join, call 785-864-4760 or toll free at 800-584-2957.

Current KU Alumni Association mem-bers with military history will be able to purchase a challenge coin for $5 (sales tax and shipping and handling additional). New members and current members who upgrade their membership will receive a challenge coin free.

Visit our website at www.kualumni.org/veterans to update your military history with us and for more information about how to get involved with the KU Veterans Alumni Chapter. Follow our Facebook group at KU Veterans Alumni Chapter.

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Former Marine and KU alumnus Chester Nez, one of the original Navajo code talkers from World War II, receives an honorary challenge coin from Veterans Alumni Chapter President Mike Denning. Nez toured campus in September after appearing at the Kansas Book Festival to promote his memoir, Code Talker.

For comments, input, or suggestions on this newsletter please contact: Nikki Epley, director of reunions and affinity programs, KU Alumni Association, nepley@kualumni.org