Marking Veterans Day, Rutgers Hosts Panel on Helping Veterans Run for Office
New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal will be presented to 10 student veterans
Editors’ note: For further information, please call Stephen Abel, director military programs and veterans services at Rutgers University, 848-932-8387, sgabel@rutgers.edu
WHAT: Rutgers’ 2014 Veterans Day observance, including the presentation of the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal to 10 student veterans and a panel discussion on resources available to veterans who want to run for public office
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 10, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: Kirkpatrick Chapel, on Rutgers University’s College Avenue Campus, George and Somerset streets, New Brunswick, New Jersey
WHO: Allison A. Hickey, U.S. Undersecretary of Veterans Affairs, retired brigadier general, United States Air Force; Richard L. Edwards, Rutgers executive vice president and chancellor of Rutgers-New Brunswick; Ray Zawacki, deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs; representatives of New Jersey veterans groups; the 10 recipients of the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal ; and panelists State Sen. Samuel Thompson; Seth Lynn of the Center for Second Service at George Washington University; Elisa Basnight, director of the Center for Women Veterans in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; and Debbie Walsh, director of the Eagleton Center of Politics at Rutgers
BACKGROUND: Rutgers honors its student veterans every November with a ceremony and presentation at Kirkpatrick Chapel. This year, the keynote speaker will be Allison A. Hickey, U.S. Undersecretary of Veterans Affairs. Hickey is in charge of the Veterans Benefits Administration, where she leads a six-year, multibillion effort to improve the quality and timeliness of the delivery of benefits to veterans. She is a member of the United States Air Force Academy, Class of 1980, the first class to admit women, and retired after 27 years of service as a brigadier general. In addition, 10 Rutgers student veterans will receive the New Jersey Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs. Finally, there will be a panel discussion about veterans in politics and public service.