Sign of the Times

A Daniels Center tradition commemorating student veterans at graduation expands in size and scope

by Randy Weiler

MTSU awards graduating veterans a special red stole. photo by J. Intintoli

MTSU began to honor its graduating veterans with a formal stole ceremony starting with the first commemoration in May 2015. The student veterans receive red stoles to wear with their caps and gowns during the University’s commencement ceremonies. “The stole ceremony demonstrates a clear commitment to recognize and appreciate the selfless service and sacrifice of our veterans and their precious families,” said LTG(R) Keith M. Huber, MTSU’s senior advisor for veterans and leadership initiatives. “This stole ceremony will become a tradition symbolizing academic achievement and service.” In recent times, the University has added a stole ceremony for faculty and staff veterans as well.

Reaching a Milestone Doug Williams of Smyrna, Tennessee, achieved yet another personal milestone when he graduated in December 2019 from MTSU with his master’s in Human Resources Leadership. Williams, 45, who earned a bachelor’s degree from MTSU in 2017, joined nearly 25 other classmates in December 2019 for the 15th Graduating Veterans Stole Ceremony at the University’s Miller Education Center. Hosted by the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center, the ceremony featured the presentation of the special red stoles that could be worn during the attending veterans’ commencement ceremonies in Murphy Center.

They were among a class of 86 student veterans and senior ROTC cadets who would be graduating. “This is an awesome event they put on for veterans,” said Williams, a section manager in quality assurance for Nissan North America in Smyrna. Williams served in the U.S. Army during 1994–2004 as a military police officer, eventually transitioning from active duty to the reserves. He is a husband (to Taronda Williams) and a father (daughter Alexandria Williams, 19, is a Motlow State Community College student). During the stole ceremony, Huber praised the student veterans who he said were about “to enter, serve the community and the workforce. . . . Businesses are looking for your teamwork, accountability, and discipline. What you do with this degree—this newly gained knowledge— is to be leaders and to be honorable in the workforce.” Smyrna Mayor Mary Esther Reed, an MTSU alumna, and Town Manager Brian Hercules also attended the ceremony, along with Veterans Affairs benefits staff and David Corlew, the longtime manager for Charlie Daniels and co-founder with him of The Journey Home veteran support organization. Before the stole ceremony, 50 people attended an inaugural breakfast provided by title sponsor Amazon. The breakfast was held for student veterans and their families, Amazon representatives, and other business leaders interested in hiring veteran graduates.

A group of 30 MTSU faculty and staff members are shown with LTG(R) Keith M. Huber (third from right in first row), at the end of the inaugural MTSU Faculty/Staff Veterans Stole Ceremony. photo by Andy Heidt

Expanding the Net As dean of MTSU’s Jones College of Business, David Urban (Ph.D.) is the highest-ranking veteran on the academic side of the University. Urban served in the U.S. Navy and has spent 35 years in academia. The last six have been at MTSU, overseeing explosive growth in Jones College. Because of his military connection, Urban was asked to deliver remarks at the inaugural MTSU Faculty/Staff Veterans Stole Ceremony in November at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street. The ceremony was a new way for the University to recognize all of those on campus who have served in the various branches of military. Huber presented each honoree with the red stoles and special commemorative coins also shared each semester with graduating student veterans. Nearly 30 veterans were honored in the formal ceremony, a prelude to the 38th annual MTSU Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces events celebrated around the next day’s football game. The faculty/staff event will precede the annual Salute activities in the future. “There is a difference in the clarity of the mission,” Urban said in comparing academics and the military. “In the military, my job was to defend the Constitution of the United States, protecting us from all enemies foreign and domestic. “Our mission in academics should be to provide our students with an outstanding education that is transformational and unforgettable.” MTSU alumnus Chris Rochelle, an enrollment coordinator at MT One Stop who also serves as a liaison between his office and the Daniels Center, served in the U.S. Army in 2002–11, including a tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom II. “It makes me happy they are doing this for us,” said Rochelle, adding that he is “proud to be a part of a celebration of this nature when the University acknowledges its veterans.” “One of the reasons I came here was because of the veterans center,” Professor Anne Anderson, holder of Jones College’s Weatherford Chair of Finance, told the audience. In speaking to her MTSU colleagues, Anderson appealed to them “to reach out to your student veterans, talk to them about the challenges they face and that they are not alone. They have a unique opportunity here.” The Weatherford Chair of Finance, established in 1986, honors Jack Weatherford, one of Tennessee’s most distinguished bankers. Now 95, he is a decorated World War II Navy veteran. Huber welcomed the audience, calling the event “another new tradition” for the Daniels Center, and thanked them for attending. “We have a 9/11 Remembrance ceremony, student veterans stole ceremony, and now a faculty/staff stole ceremony,” Huber said. “You proudly demonstrate you were a servant leader in uniform and how you are an influencer in the academic environment.”