The Oldham Family Veteran Student Center has two full time staff members, one graduate assistant and nine VA paid student workers.

The VSC acts as a liaison between the Department of Veteran Affairs (GI Bill recipients and dependents) and the five military branches including active duty, reservists, and drilling service members. Our office assists with applying for the benefits and processing the benefits which includes applying funds directly to student accounts. For fall 2023, we have processed over on million dollars in GI Bill (R) funds and over $235,000.00 in tuition paid directly to the university.

We also connect and support our military connected students with campus/community resources to to assist them with education or personal issues.

As an office, Veteran Student Center recognizes the sacrifice of not only our service members, but also our spouses and military dependents. These folks often assisted the service member as s/he went on multiple deployments, changed duty stations to locations around the world, and took on different roles through various transition periods. We want to ensure that you feel as welcome here at MSU as those that identify as military or veterans.

One thing we would like people to know about us is the importance of the Veteran Student Lounge. The Veteran Student Lounge located in Meyer Library room 108 gives you the opportunity to study at one of our computers, drink some of our locally brewed coffee, and meet other veteran students at Missouri State. It is equipped with comfortable furniture, a kitchen area, free coffee, computers, a CAC reader, television, an Xbox game console and other amenities.

Also, if you have any questions about the MSU campus or student community, a V.E.T. Student Liaison will be ready to assist you. These students can help with general questions regarding the application process, and provide information about the campus and other available resources.

I believe it is important for the campus community to know where we are located and the amenities/services we provide so they can direct any military connected student to our staff and and V.E.T. liaisons.

Collaborating with VSC can take many different forms. Once way is to co-host events. One example is an event that the Career Center co-hosted with the VSC which included resume madness for veterans.

We show we are Champions for Student Success in the following ways:

• Engaging:  We engage with our military-affiliated students as early as possible to help them apply for educational benefits, provide certification of said military benefits, and connect with campus and community resources.
• Supportive: We support our military-affiliated students by providing a welcoming and professionally staffed student center, including a quiet study area and computer lab, access to academic and post military resources, and a veteran and military exclusive lounge for camaraderie.
• Advocative: We advocate for our military-affiliated students by working with local, state and national organizations to promote the needs and rights of veterans and their dependents.
• Ethical: We conduct our work with integrity, honesty, and high professional standards, and believe that all individuals should be treated with affirmation, dignity, and respect.