Director Hired for New Office of Veteran and Military Personnel at IUPUI

 A national veterans service organization official has been hired as the first manager of the Office of Veteran and Military Personnel at IUPUI, announced Rebecca Porter, executive director of Enrollment Services and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Services.

Susan Richards, formerly Corporate and Community Relations Manager for the National Headquarters of the American Legion Auxiliary in Indianapolis, begins her new duties this week.

“I look forward to serving and contributing to veterans and their military families in a significant and meaningful way through this newly created position,” she said.

IUPUI created the new office to better serve more than 1,200 students who are veterans, the largest number of student veterans at any university campus in Indiana. That number is likely to grow as more Indiana National Guard members return home from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Establishment of the office was recommended in November 2008 by an IUPUI Student Veterans Taskforce, which examined the educational and personal issues veterans face while completing military duty, and after being discharged.

Prior to joining the 900,000 member American Legion, Richards served as the Director of Family Programs for the Indiana Army and Air National Guard. She has developed and maintained significant corporate partners to support the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary and launched their new Corporate Partnership Program. Her extensive experience in collaboration and establishing community and veteran service organization partnerships is bolstered by a valuable communication background with a creative style.

Richards received her Bachelors’ degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University and a Masters of Public Affairs from Indiana University Bloomington. She also has been involved in many volunteer activities including current commitments assisting with curriculum development for the Rockville Women’s Penitentiary Life Skills program and acting as Secretary of the Indiana Chapter of the Association of the United States Army. Richard’s spouse is both a veteran and active duty member of the Indiana National Guard.

“Susan has an obvious passion for and understanding of the specific opportunities and challenges that face this special population of students,” Porter said. “IUPUI is fortunate to have attracted Susan to this position and we are very confident that our student-veterans will be well-served by this new member of the IUPUI family.”

The Office of Veteran and Military Personnel will serve as an institutional single point of contact for students with any type of military affiliation to coordinate service, provide advice, create programming, and advocate for students with issues related to their experiences and student status, Porter said. In addition to the director, two other staff members with Enrollment Services will be reassigned to work in the new office.

Responsibilities for the director of the office include recommending campus wide policy changes as appropriate and creating outreach programs for veterans and military service personnel.

Space in the Campus Center will be renovated to house the office, with the planned opening of the office set for the fall semester.