Michael Haynie, co-founder and executive director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, has been named Vice Chancellor for Veterans and Military Affairs.

Haynie’s new job was announced in Chancellor Kent Syverud’s memorandum to the SU community on May 12. Haynie’s new position is one of thirteen organizational changes and promotions within IVMF announced by SU. He will retain his role as executive director of IVMF and begin his new job on July 1.

Prior to coming to SU in 2006, Haynie served 14 years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. At SU, Haynie founded the IVMF and the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities program, which educates post-9/11 veterans with disabilities in entrepreneurship and small business management.

Haynie said there are many steps to improving veterans and military affairs. One of those is analyzing the support systems put in place for veterans, he said.

“We have to look at things like: Are the support structures here in place so that veterans can fit in on this college campus? Are there peer support systems and opportunities to engage them in all of the things we inherently do at this institution, with regard to leadership, student clubs, athletics, student government?” he said.

Haynie said he and Syverud want to create a culture at SU where students, faculty and staff who are not veterans are educated and culturally competent to be friends, peers and mentors for veterans.

He said one of the most significant reasons veterans drop out of school is the feeling of alienation. Although some veterans are the same age as other students, their military service gives them a different experience than that of the average student, and that sometimes makes them feel like they don’t fit in, he said.

“There are things we can do about that and I think those are the kinds of things we’re going to work on with regard to really creating an environment here where student veterans and their families feel welcome and accepted and empowered to really succeed in school,” Haynie said.

The expansion of the IVMF and the creation of Haynie’s new job come after Syverud said in his inauguration speech that he wants SU to be the best place for veterans.

“I’m not necessarily prone to being dramatic, but I honestly think it’s a historic opportunity,” Haynie said of the opportunity presented by Syverud.

Haynie said SU has an opportunity to distinguish itself as an institution, and set an example for how higher education can play a role in successfully transitioning and empowering service members. Haynie added that he has worked closely with Syverud since his inauguration to craft a strategy to help make the chancellor’s vision a reality and make SU a leader in veterans affairs.

Over the last two months, Haynie has chaired a campus-working group that has helped figure out what the first steps are to enact Syverud’s vision, he said.

“I think it is tremendous that he [Syverud] sees an opportunity, both to do the right thing for veterans and their families but also sees an opportunity that acting on that right thing to do, it will make SU better as well,” he said.

Haynie said that nobody in the country can match the history SU has with veterans, specifically following World War II. Following World War II, SU Chancellor William Pearson Tolley enacted a uniform admissions program, which ensured all military personnel admission to SU upon their return from war. By the end of 1947, SU ranked first in New York State and 17th in the U.S. in veteran enrollment, according to the Veterans Resource Center website.

“When you combine the history with the work that IVMF and others around campus have been doing to engage and support this generation of veterans, I think we’re uniquely positioned to sort of lead the way for the community of colleges and universities with regard to really doing this right,” Haynie said.

Haynie said SU wants to be a leader in veterans affairs for the new class of veterans, similar to its role following World War II.

“Just like we today look back at World War II and say ‘listen, SU really played a central role in empowering what we’ve come to call the greatest generation after World War II,’ we have that opportunity again with this generation,” Haynie said.

Published on May 19, 2014 at 10:39 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306