Campus Community Invited to Help Celebrate Veterans Day at the National Veterans Resource Center

graphic of U.S. flag with block S and words Syracuse University Celebrating Veterans Day 2022, Honoring All Who Served

The Syracuse University Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA) invites the campus community to the National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC) at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building for the observance of the Syracuse University Veterans Day ceremony 2022.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, and last for approximately one hour. The ceremony will be held in the K.G. Tan Auditorium, followed by a reception in the Bisignano Grand Hall inside the NVRC.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Kari Mickinkle ’11, G’22 will open the ceremony and serve as the emcee. Mickinkle is a school-certifying official with the Office of Veteran Success.

Student-veteran Anthony Ruscitto ’22, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and the president of Syracuse University Student Veterans Organization, will speak about his personal experience as a military-connected student on campus as well as the history of Syracuse University’s commitment to veterans and military-connected students. Ruscitto is currently a graduate student at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs pursuing a master’s degree in public administration.

Dwayne Murray ’97, who retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel, serves as the deputy director of OVMA. As an alumnus, he has seen the dramatic transformation on campus from the University’s initiative to be the “Best Place for Veterans.” Murray will speak about the history of Veterans Day and the national importance of honoring those who have served in defense of the nation.

Chancellor Kent Syverud will deliver remarks as well as introduce the keynote speaker for the ceremony. This year, U.S. Navy retired Rear Adm. Danelle Barret G’04 will be the guest speaker.

Barrett’s military career spanned more than 30 years and included numerous leadership and command positions, as well as operational assignments throughout the world. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she now handles a portfolio of activities for consulting, public speaking and writing, as well as serving on several corporate boards. Her book, “Rock the Boat: Embrace Change, Encourage Innovation and Be a Successful Leader” was featured as an Amazon Best Seller in business leadership training, business mentoring and coaching, and management skills.

As an admiral in the Navy, Barrett served as director of current operations at U.S. Cyber Command, and as the Navy Cyber Security Division director and deputy chief information officer on the chief of Naval Operations staff. In her last position in the U.S. Navy, she led the Navy’s strategic development and execution of digital and cyber security efforts, enterprise information technology improvements, and cloud policy and governance for 700,000 personnel across a global network.

An innovator, she implemented visionary digital transformation to modernize with unprecedented speed, significantly improving Navy information warfare capabilities. Her numerous operational assignments included deployments to Iraq, on an aircraft carrier supporting operations in Afghanistan, and to Haiti providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief after the 2010 earthquake.

Those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by the end of the day today, Tuesday, Nov. 8.  The NVRC has limited accessible parking spaces available for those who require parking accommodations; those who plan on attending are asked to email kslantry@syr.edu if they require access to one of the available parking spaces. All others are requested to find parking available around campus .