President Ryan to speak at opening of new UVA Veteran Student Center

The official opening of the University of Virginia’s Veteran Student Center will take place Thursday at 2 p.m. in the lower level of Newcomb Hall.

UVA President Jim Ryan will deliver remarks during the opening ceremony along with Timothy Brown, a U.S. Navy veteran who is president of the Student Veterans Association chapter and a Posse Scholar at UVA; Dave Sauerwein, assistant dean of students who provides support to student-veterans; and Jeffrey Lovelace, assistant professor in the McIntire School of Commerce and former U.S. Army officer.

The newly updated space will provide student-veterans and active-duty ROTC students a dedicated spot catering to their educational and social needs. They will use the space to hold special programs, gather casually between classes and access resources unique to their needs.

The Student Veterans Association at UVA has been actively involved in planning the new center with support from a committee comprising administrators and faculty members, several of whom are veterans. Funding for refurbishing the space came from the Jefferson Trust, an initiative of the UVA Alumni Association.

Opening of the new center was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and related activities marking the anniversary.