Bunker Hill Community College Opens Veterans Center
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Bunker Hill Community College will dedicate its new Veterans Center in a ceremony at noon, Wednesday, November 17, 2010, in the main lobby at the Charlestown Campus. Since the passage of the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (also known as the “Post-9/11 GI Bill”), the number of veterans at the College has more than doubled to 367.
Speakers at the event include: Student Veterans Club President Michael Roche; James Wright, Ph.D., President Emeritus of Dartmouth College and a national leader in helping veterans attend college; and Jonathan Shay, M.D., Ph.D., a MacArthur fellow and author of two books on combat trauma. While president of Dartmouth, Wright began visiting wounded veterans at military hospitals to encourage them to continue their education. In a separate presentation, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Shay will discuss what communities can do to assist returning veterans. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the C202 auditorium at the College.
The new Veterans Center provides a central place where College staff can assist veterans in working through the processes involved in obtaining educational benefits. Students have access to a fax/copier, computers, a printer, comfortable chairs and a reading area. With the help of a $50,000 foundation grant, the College constructed the Center over the summer.
“The Veterans Center reflects the College's commitment to veterans and military personnel by providing the information they need to know in order to pursue higher education with the benefits earned during their service,” said Stephen C. Roy, the College's Veterans Representative and advocate. “Now, veterans can sit down and apply for some of the many military education benefits, federal or state,” added Roy. “We offer a "one-stop shop" where they can do everything at once rather than making multiple trips to other offices at the College.” The College has also added staff to help veterans take advantage of the new GI Bill benefits, and developed a seminar designed for veterans titled: “The Military: Before, During and After.”
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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. The College offers associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific training programs. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).