I was quite pleased to see that Purdue Northwest received a high ranking for our work with military, enlisted and veterans. Irrespective of what one thinks about various government policies, we understand that veterans and enlisted have particular needs and deserve only the best treatment from Purdue.

This was not always the case. I recall some years ago that there was even internet material that publicly slammed the (then) Purdue Calumet for its treatment of veterans and enlisted. In the past few years, that has been turned around.

In my forty years here, I have never seen anything like it. The office has become a beehive of activity, a community gathering space for veterans and enlisted, who received advice and resources to help them succeed. The Military Stand Down has attracted many, and the program grew from basically nothing to serving over 100 veterans and enlisted, some of whom would not have succeeded if it were not for this program.

Credit for this must go to Akili Shakur, who took the initiative to start the program, who nurtured it – meeting not just with students, but also with their families – and who built it up to where it is today. Let’s hope the program can continue maintaining the quantity (number of students served) and quality in the future.

Alan Spector Professor of Sociology