The language lab in Fordham’s Keating Hall, room B25, will be converted into a veteran space called the “Veteran and Military Family Center.” Renovations are set to begin in January, with hopes of it being completed in the spring.
“The focus will be to create an environment where our military-connected students have a place,” said Matthew Butler, executive director of the Office of Military and Veterans Services (OMVS). “It gives them an opportunity to organize, find a sense of community and understanding for their unique experiences that they’ve had growing up.”
The room is already being used as an office by Juvie Segovia, PCS ’22, who is the operations manager of the Veterans and Military Family Center. Students are also able to use the space to study and hang out at this time. The room will be closed, however, during renovations.
Once renovated, the center will include a community table for socializing, a study space, a soundproof conference room for counseling services and amenities like printers and coffee machines. The primary purpose of the center will be to help military students connect with services and resources, such as non-profits and organizations that assist veterans.
The creation of the new center is intended to increase Fordham University’s support for their military-connected students and subsequentially increase the military population at Fordham. Before 2009, 35 military-connected students were attending Fordham, according to Butler. Now, that number has increased to 600, and Fordham has an initiative to continue to grow that population over the next three years.
Fordham University is a Yellow Ribbon school; this means it has an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide financial assistance to veterans and military dependents. As a result of the support the university provides for military students, in 2024, Fordham was ranked the 23rd best college for veterans in the country and the best college for veterans in New York by Military Times.
“We have to continue to do more,” Butler said. “Our community is growing. We want the community to grow and we are intentional about that. So, if we are going to promise an education, we are also going to promise the support that our military service members and families deserve.”
There has been a center for all military-connected students at the Fordham University Lincoln Center campus since 2015 that has served all students across both campuses. According to Butler, they have been hoping to make a veteran space at the Rose Hill campus since 2014.
Segovia, who is an army veteran herself, felt there was nowhere to go between classes when she studied at Fordham as a commuter student. She utilized the veteran center at Lincoln Center on days when she had classes there; however when she was at Rose Hill, she spent most of her time in the library. Segovia hopes that the new center at Rose Hill can provide the same type of “haven” she found at Lincoln Center.
“Our goal for this center is to really mirror and mimic the resources and events that they’re doing at Lincoln Center for Rose Hill,” Segovia said.
Aside from providing a lounge space, Segovia hopes to host events for military students in the new center. Their first event will be a potluck and movie night that will take place on Sept. 19 in room B25.
Sofia Jimenez-Flores, FCRH ’28, is a military dependent participating in a work-study at the Veteran and Military Family Center. She says she is very excited for the new space at Rose Hill.
“I’ve actually been to the Lincoln Center Space … I do love it, but I don’t like having to take the Ram Van all the way over,” Jimenez-Flores said. “Rose Hill being the home campus, I definitely think it’s time for something like this.”
According to Segovia, the new center has an emphasis on providing resources for military dependents. Since the space at Lincoln Center primarily caters to veterans, OMVS hopes to expand events and resources to military dependents through the Rose Hill center. They also hope to employ current military dependents to provide students the ability to advocate for what they want and need, according to Butler.
Butler acknowledged that veteran students bring unique perspectives to the classroom and value to the Fordham campus. He hopes that the new center will help military students to become more connected with the Fordham community. “What we want to create is a place for our military-connected students to have a real connection with the university, in a way that gives them the best chance to succeed, that gives them an opportunity to orient, and like I said, launch from, into the community, into the Fordham community,” Butler said, commenting on the new space.
