Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Speaks About U.S. Strategy and Enhancing Support for Veterans
April 19, 2010
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, kicked off a year-long series of “Conversations with the Country” at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum on April 18. In his address, he emphasized both the proper strategic role of military power in U.S. foreign policy and the importance of investing in the nation’s military veterans through higher education, career opportunities and support services.
“This is the beginning of an effort to connect with communities throughout the country about the challenges [the military and veterans] face to connect with America,” Mullen said during an hour-long conversation moderated by University President Lee C. Bollinger. “I believe that investment on the part of America and Columbia will be paid back tenfold over the course of the next decade.”
Related Links
- Admiral Mike Mullen Speaks at World Leaders Forum (Full Video), April 18, 2010
- Mullen Reaches Out to Local Communities on Behalf of Veterans, American Forces Press Service, U.S. Department of Defense, April 18, 2010
- Yellow Ribbon Program Helps More Military Veterans Attend Columbia, Jan. 10, 2010
- Memorial Honors the Lives of Alumni Who Died in Wartime Service, Dec. 15, 2008
Mullen noted Columbia University’s extensive effort to reach out to potential student veterans and build a supportive community of veterans on campus. Columbia has actively embraced the Yellow Ribbon Education Enhancement Program and now has more than 270 student veterans receiving tuition benefits. While there are veterans enrolled at most of the University’s graduate and professional schools, a majority attend Columbia’s School of General Studies, which was founded in 1947 largely in order to provide an Ivy League undergraduate education to World War Two veterans on the GI Bill. The school has since established itself as a unique collegiate experience for a wide range of nontraditional students.
The World Leaders Forum was part of a day on campus for Mullen and his wife Deborah that began with a visit to the University’s new memorial in Butler Library dedicated to Columbians who lost their lives in military service going back to the American Revolution. They were welcomed by a contingent of Columbia Military Veterans, who worked together with alumni and the Office of the Provost to develop plans for the war memorial. It was dedicated last year along with an interactive “Roll of Honor” website providing the historical background on each era and information about Columbians who died in wartime.
Mullen then joined President Bollinger and Dean of the School of General Studies Peter Awn for a luncheon and conversation with a larger group of student veterans at Casa Italiana before the public forum, which was held in Alshtul Auditorium at the School of International and Public Affairs.
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Multimedia
| Gary Sick, adjunct professor of International and Public Affairs, discusses the elections in Iran. (7:16) |
Milestones
Four Columbia faculty were awarded Sloan Research Fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. They are Mark Churchland, assistant professor of neuroscience; Wei Min, assistant professor of chemistry; Simha Sethumadhavan, associate professor of computer science; and Wei Zhang, assistant professor of mathematics.
Alondra Nelson, associate professor of sociology, won the 2012 book award from the Association for Humanist Sociology for Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination.
