Next week, we commemorate Veterans Day on Nov. 11, and in the days leading up to and following the commemoration, our three campuses will offer a variety of opportunities to honor the valor and contributions of those who have served in our nation’s armed forces. We are fortunate to count many veterans among the faculty, staff, students and alumni from all three campuses. As a community, let’s show our appreciation for their courage and commitment by making sure that every veteran’s Husky Experience is welcoming and enriching.
You can visit our Veterans Appreciation Week site to find many ways to engage with and celebrate our veteran friends, colleagues and classmates. On Nov. 10, the UW Alumni Association will welcome veterans back for their annual alumni reunion and on Nov. 13, Student Veteran Life will host the 6th annual Salute to Service Tailgate before the Huskies take on Arizona State. On Veterans Day, I invite you to join us on the Seattle campus at the Medal of Honor Memorial for a ceremony honoring the bravery of all who have served. Wherever you are that day, I hope you will take a moment to pause and reflect on the contributions and sacrifices of all who have served and are serving.
Each Veterans Day, we also recognize our Distinguished Alumni Veteran Award (DAVA) recipient, who this year is Dave Stone, ’68, U.S. Army. Dave is a decorated soldier who served in the Army for 20 years, including in the Vietnam War. He played an important role in modernizing the Army’s communication structures, and his work in this area is evident today in the Army’s ability to respond to national emergencies and natural disasters. In his post-military career, he put his information and communications expertise to good use as a government advisor, and as an alumnus, he and his wife Marcie have been dedicated and passionate supporters of the UW. As Laureate Donors, they have provided transformative support for the Information School and the Meany Center for the Performing Arts, and they established the Nancy and Eddie Cooper Endowed Fund for Music in Schools. We are honored to recognize Dave as this year’s DAVA recipient.
To all our veterans and active duty servicepeople, thank you for your courage and patriotism. We are proud to call you Huskies. We also recognize that military service can create special demands on you, and on all three campuses, you will find support through the UW Bothell Veterans Center, the Office of Student Veteran Life and the Veterans Education Benefits Office in Seattle and the UW Tacoma Veteran and Military Resource Center.
As we continue our return to our campuses, I’m so pleased to renew the UW tradition of celebrating our veterans together, and I look forward to using this Veterans Day to recognize those who have bravely served our nation in uniform. Together, let’s make sure that the people we honor next week are always in our thoughts and practices as we build a welcoming and inclusive community.