Quinnipiac rated as top school for veterans

Veterans honoring the flag at Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel Campus. Photo courtesy of Qunnipiac University

Quinnipiac University in Hamden has been rated as the top school for military veterans in Connecticut following an in-depth national survey by the Military Times media group.

“It was very comprehensive,” said Jason Burke, director of veteran and military affairs at the university. “The focus was on the current student veteran population, the students’ areas of study, retention and graduation rates, administrative functions, and specific benefits and partnerships between Quinnipiac and the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense.”

Nationally the school was rated 26 among four-year schools for veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement.

The university currently serves 119 student veterans and, including dependent family members, the university’s military veteran services cover approximately 200 people, according to John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations at Quinnipiac.

The recognition follows several initiatives by the university to aid veterans in their career development after their military service.

The university has partnered with both the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration to provide veterans with benefits that fit with their military experience.

“For many of our student veterans, they not only have to worry about school work, but balancing family and work commitments as well,” Burke said.

Since 2009, Quinnipiac has participated in the “Yellow Ribbon Program,” a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 that provides the cost of tuition and fees to qualified veterans and their children.

In addition, Quinnipiac recently announced that Dr. Robert Krug, president and CEO/medical director of Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Hartford, has been named the William and Barbara Weldon chair and director of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine’s new Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine and Center for U.S. Veterans Rehabilitation at Quinnipiac.

The new Center for U.S. Veterans Rehabilitation is dedicated to provide long-term, sustainable approaches to address the health care needs of veterans.

By drawing upon the resources of Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, Connecticut’s only free-standing acute rehabilitation hospital, and other clinical partners, the new institute is poised to become a nationally-recognized center addressing the needs of veterans, according to a statement from Quinnipiac.

“Our student veterans should be very proud of how hard they work at their mission at Quinnipiac,” Burke added.  “This recognition also shows that Quinnipiac has embraced its cadre of veterans.  A huge University team effort from the top down enables our student veterans to concentrate on being a student with minimal time worrying about the administrative burdens. I couldn’t be prouder of their camaraderie, diligence and effort.”