California State University, Fresno will pay tribute to the university’s 350 veterans – students and employees – in a ceremony at noon Tuesday, Nov. 9, with music, bagpipes and a talk by a professor who served as a U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate General.
Presented by the Fresno State Student Veterans Organization, the event is open to the public. It will be held in the Memorial Court in front of the Kennel Bookstore.
The Fresno State campus is closed Nov. 11 for the national Veterans Day observance.
Fresno State’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Color Guard will present colors, followed by singing the National Anthem by Lorilynn Alamano, an employee in the University Police Department. Ken Bain from the Scottish Society of Central California will perform on the bagpipes.
The speaker, Dr. Mark Stevens, Fresno State criminology professor who holds a law degree, will highlight the societal contributions veterans make in a university setting and in the community. After his own college years, Stevens served 22 years on active duty with the Marine Corps as a field artillery officer, commanding officer and executive officer.
He is the adviser to the Fresno State Mock Trial Teams, the Fresno State Chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma and the National Criminal Justice Honor Society.
Earlier this semester, Fresno State was named a Military Friendly School for 2011 by G.I. Jobs magazine for its dedication to the veteran community.
The university, which was recognized for its efforts to ease veterans’ transition to a new lifestyle, participates in the California State University Troops to College program, designed to attract more veterans to California’s public universities and colleges by making campuses more veteran-friendly.
The university’s Veterans Services Office, within the Division of Student Affairs, helps students who are veterans, reservists and active-duty personnel maximize educational benefits and understand the benefits process.
Last year, the Veterans Services Office helped its students form the Fresno State Student Veterans Organization. Club members will participate in the Nov. 11 Fresno Veterans Parade, which is led by the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band and includes the university’s Air Force ROTC unit.
For more information, contact Robyn Gutierrez, Veterans Benefits coordinator, at 559.278.7030 or rgutierrez@csufresno.edu.
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