How UND leads in military support
The University’s commitment to ‘serving service members’ shows up in veterans programs, peer counseling, ROTC and countless other ways
Editor’s note: The following letter, written by Angie Carpenter, director of Veterans & Military Affairs at UND; Maddie Lewis, an Air Force veteran and UND student who is a student mentor with the University’s Military Affiliated Peer Support program; and Lt. Col. Jared Budenski, professor of military science with the Army ROTC program at UND, introduces a special edition of UND Today focused on the “Affinity” core value of the UND LEADS Strategic Plan.
As readers may know, UND Today is devoting a special issue on the last Tuesday of each month to the University’s progress on fulfilling the Strategic Plan. The issues consider the plan’s “LEADS” core values — Learning, Equity, Affinity, Discovery and Service — in succession; the issue of UND Today that gets published on Tuesday, Jan. 28, will be devoted to Discovery.
Comments or questions? Contact Tom Dennis, UND Today editor, at tom.dennis@UND.edu. Thank you for reading!
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By Angie Carpenter, Maddie Lewis and Jared Budenski
A key element of the Affinity core value in the UND LEADS Strategic Plan is the call to “enhance UND’s military-friendly environment in which we recruit, welcome and retain military-affiliated students and families.”
The University has spent decades pursuing that goal, and today takes pride in the strong sense of community and belonging among military-affiliated students that the hard work by faculty, students and staff has brought about.
Today, the University’s commitment to veterans, active-duty service members and military dependents is evident in our services designed to ease the transition from military to academic life. With almost 1,800 military-affiliated students, UND is proud to serve those who have served.
Working together to connect students
Veteran & Military Affairs at UND consists of the Veteran & Military Services office, Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC, all of which work together to provide a full range of support.
The Veteran & Military Services office offers assistance with VA benefits, programming and navigating academic life. We connect students to resources such as scholarships, financial assistance and counseling, ensuring students can balance their educational and personal commitments.
We also help military-affiliated students connect socially and professionally. Our student organization, the Veteran & Military Community, recently has become an official Student Veterans of America chapter, strengthening our ability to engage and support military-affiliated students. This group organizes social events and career networking opportunities, provides advocacy when needed and fosters camaraderie by allowing students to bond over shared experiences.
We continuously assess processes across campus to ensure they are military-friendly. For example, we created a Military Student Attendance Policy to support students who may be required to be absent from class due to military obligations. This policy ensures that students’ academic progress is not hindered by their service commitments.
Additionally, we’re focused on improving how military credits are evaluated and applied to academic programs, ensuring that military training and experience are recognized as valuable contributions to students’ education. We’re also working to build a military faculty and staff group, which further will strengthen the sense of community and provide additional support for our students.
Peer support at the ready
The Military Affiliated Peer Support group is another program that offers vital support. The four military-affiliated students in the group play a key role in onboarding, welcoming and retaining other military-affiliated students and their families.
Throughout the semester, the team remains accessible, using email and phone calls, as well as the team’s office space to meet and interact with veterans at UND.
This ongoing support fosters a sense of community and belonging, addressing the unique challenges faced by military students.
ROTC for Army, Air Force
Another core element of UND’s effort to enhance its military-friendly environment is ROTC. When the U.S. Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps officially was formed in 1918, cadets from across the country joined the ranks. Here on the campus UND, our Army ROTC program saw an influx of cadets as well, as did UND’s Air Force ROTC detachment when it was established in 1952.
The Air Force ROTC program now sees nearly 100 cadets enrolled in the program each year. And since the establishment of Army ROTC at UND in 1918, more than 1,300 cadets have commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army.
One might ask, why join an organization such as ROTC? One reason is that the Affinity or sense of belonging among all cadets is high. ROTC continues to recruit and retain these qualified and motivated students; and as military-affiliated programs, we continue to coach, mentor and train students with “Leadership” attributes and competencies to succeed in the U.S. Army and Air Force.
UND is committed to meeting the needs of military-affiliated students, whether they be active-duty personnel, veterans or dependents. By prioritizing this goal, UND not only enhances the educational experience for military students but also solidifies its position as a leader in creating an inclusive and supportive academic environment.
We continue to explore ways to showcase the unique resources and opportunities at UND for military-affiliated students, positioning our University as a leader in military support.
To quote again from the UND LEADS Strategic Plan, the core value of Affinity strives to “foster a sense of belonging and a campus culture that celebrates the unique ways we connect and contribute to UND.”
By fostering a strong sense of community, we ensure military-affiliated students thrive academically and feel a deep sense of belonging at our University.
>> About the authors: Angie Carpenter is director of Veterans & Military Affairs at UND. Air Force veteran and UND student Maddie Lewis is a student mentor with the University’s Military Affiliated Peer Support program. And Lt. Col. Jared Budenski is a professor of Military Science with the Army ROTC program at UND.
>> Do you have questions or comments about the UND LEADS Strategic Plan? Your thoughts are welcome. Please contact Mike Wozniak, coordinator of Leadership & Programming, and/or Ryan Zerr, associate vice president for Strategy & Implementation, the co-chairs of the UND LEADS Implementation Committee. You also may offer your thoughts by visiting the UND LEADS Strategic Plan home page and clicking on the “Provide your feedback” link. Thank you for your support of the UND LEADS Strategic Plan!
