Student Veterans at the Heart of Campus-wide Training, Another Step in ORU’s Commitment to Veteran Education

To our veterans and to those who serve, we—Oral Roberts University (ORU)—are committed. We are committed to educating student veterans, to providing them a college experience that is second to none. To further this commitment, ORU is constructing a new Veterans Experience Office, a featured space in ORU’s new Welcome Center. Led by Retired Lieutenant Colonel Will Beck, this office will serve and support veterans on their higher education journey and postgraduation career path.

But our commitment to veteran education doesn’t end there. ORU’s commitment to student veterans is a campus-wide initiative, one embraced by our faculty and staff too. Recently, Colonel Beck launched a series of training sessions to educate ORU’s faculty and staff on student veteran perspectives. The first group of trainees included ORU’s Student Relations and Online Enrollment Teams.  

“We’re excited for what God’s doing through Colonel Beck,” said Kevin Cline, an Online Admissions Representative. “The team he’s building will do a lot for military students at our University. “  

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Under Colonel Beck, staff and faculty will be learning about veteran experiences, student veteran research, and eligibility for education benefits. At ORU, these benefits include:

• the Veterans Affairs Chapters (9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, etc); and 
• the recently signed Department of Defense (DoD) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Tuition Assistance. 

Under the DoD MOU, active duty and reserve component service members can use $250 per ORU credit hour, up to $4,500 per Fiscal Year.  

“We’re excited to be a signatory of the DoD MOU,” Colonel Beck said. “This financial assistance will have a huge impact when service members look at ORU for their college education. It really is a game changer.” 

Colonel Beck’s training for ORU faculty and staff also includes: 

• highlighting student veteran resources at ORU and in the Tulsa community;  
• an awareness of veteran disabilities, disability ratings, and benefits; and 
• offering personal and research data on best practices for engaging with student veterans.

Throughout the summer and into the fall, more veteran training sessions will be scheduled at ORU, ensuring student veteran opportunities and resources are better understood by the entire ORU campus. Colonel Beck points to this continued training, along with the new Veterans Experience Office, in emphasizing ORU’s commitment to student veteran services that are impactful and unique to higher education. 

“There are over 5 million veterans transitioning from service since 9/11,” Colonel Beck said, “and ORU is setting the stage to recruit, support, transition, walk alongside, graduate, and assist our Spirit-empowered veterans, both on campus and in the job market. I’m blessed to be part of such an important mission at ORU.”