Veteran Benefits
Iraq War veteran Bryan Adams SBC’12 appeared before the University Senate in 2008 to advocate for better academic services for veterans. (Watch a video segment featuring Adams from Our Revolutionary Spirit.) Today, he is a service coordinator at the Office of Veteran and Military Programs and Services, which is based at Rutgers–New Brunswick and directed by veteran Ann Treadaway. Rutgers–Camden, which maintains the Office of Veterans Affairs, was named a Purple Heart University by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Rutgers–Newark provides support for veterans through its Veterans Services office. For several years, Military Times magazine has ranked Rutgers a top university for former members of the military, such as students Clifford Timon Oyugi and Gracemarie Perez.

 

illo of John TaylorToo Close for Comfort
British troops occupied New Brunswick from December 1776 to June 1777, forcing the retreat of the Continental Army and the relocation of Queen’s College classes to various locations in Somerset County until 1781. Tutor John Taylor, right, turned over student instruction to John Bogart QC1778 in order to fight in the war. Simeon De Witt QC1776*, the surveyor general of the Continental Army, created maps for General Washington, a valuable resource in the decisive victory at Yorktown.

 

For Home and Country illustrationBird of a Different Feather
Rutgers students have always rallied to support  a worthy cause. Most students, anyway. During a public speaking class in 1918, one first-year wag refused to endorse the selling of Liberty Bonds, which supported the Allied cause during World War I. He was seized by fellow students, held in Ford Hall, covered with molasses and feathers, and paraded through New Brunswick.

 

 

The Fruits of War
The G.I. Bill of 1944 had a huge impact on higher education and on Rutgers. Overnight, returning World War II veterans flooded the school. From 1945 to 1947, enrollment at Rutgers–New Brunswick alone grew from 750 to 4,200 undergraduates, leading to a new emphasis on professional programs, graduate education, and research—and causing a housing crunch. See video.

 

civil war illustration

*A member of the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni