CIR’s Veterans Day Address

11 Nov 2011 | posted by Center for Innovation and Research | in CIR News Archive, Past Events

I salute you, veterans! Today is our day, so stand tall, be proud, and always live the core values.

Every Veterans Day we recognize all of the men and women who have served the United States in military service. To honor those who have fallen, we read their names in Roll Calls like this one, and gratefully remember their service and sacrifice. To honor those who still serve or who are currently living in our communities, we publish news stories, hold parades, and promote retail sales–but this is not enough and is generally short-lived.

Tomorrow, Veterans Day will be old news, the crowds will be gone, and stores will move on to promote the holiday season, but hundreds of thousands of veterans will still deserve our recognition, our respect, and in some cases, our assistance. Veterans are living beside us in our community, where they work to support their families or attend college to better themselves and their future. Many, in fact, live here in Southern California, and all of them would benefit from our respect and welcoming spirit throughout the entire year, not just today.

Here at USC, we welcome our student veterans and are working to strengthen the transition of all veterans and their families into the Southern California communities. Some of our students are earning their degrees in order to work with veteran and military family populations–from occupational therapy to military social work.

I have in the service to our country, been fortunate to work side by side with some of the greatest servicemen and servicewomen in our history. I have witnessed extraordinary courage and perseverance. I have witnessed sacrifice by servicemembers for the greater good and a higher purpose. As former servicemembers reintegrate with mainstream society and academia, I encourage educators and higher education administrators to broaden the paradigm of the veteran student from deficits to strengths, from shortcomings to possibilities, and from isolation to community. Consider looking through a different lens when you interact with this most capable veteran student. How will you see the veteran student in 2011 and beyond?

Regardless of our area of study or occupation, we all can honor our veterans consistently through our recognition, our respect, and our service to them. I hope that you will join us as we remember and honor all of those who have served–today and every day thereafter.
Dr. Anthony Hassan
Director, Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR)
Major, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)

This address was delivered by Dr. Hassan at the Roll Call that was held on the USC University Park Campus on November 11, 2011, to honor the fallen servicemembers who have served during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.