Institute for Veterans and Military Families announces inaugural fellows

The Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University, an academic center committed to leveraging the national resources of higher education in service to our country’s veteran and military family communities, has announced its inaugural cadre of institute fellows.

The IVMF Fellows program was created to harness and focus the disciplinary expertise of our nation’s most accomplished thinkers and researchers on the myriad of complex challenges facing our veterans and our country. The inaugural cadre of institute fellows is composed of acknowledged leaders in their respective fields, whose work has garnered national and international acclaim. The disciplinary expertise of IVMF fellows spans a broad range of academic specialties, and each of these world-class scholars has made a commitment to leverage their expertise to confer insight into the social, psychological and economic issues impacting the nation’s veterans and military families.

“We believe there is no institution in a better position to investigate and motivate action to address the challenges and leverage the strengths of America’s veterans than higher education. To help this community successfully navigate the post-service life-course, we must honor their service, while acknowledging the unique challenges faced as a consequence of that service,” says Mike Haynie, IVMF executive director and Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Whitman School of Management. “The inaugural IVMF fellows—a truly distinguished group of scholars—represent the best that higher education has to offer. They will play a crucial role in both informing the national dialogue focused on the concerns facing this community and help in the development of the institute’s research agenda.”

Fellows will produce original research to meet needs identified by stakeholders in the veteran and military family communities, and develop research briefs in response to salient social, economic, public policy and wellness issues impacting the nation’s veterans. Fellows will also present their work at an annual research symposium that includes representatives from business, industry, government, non-governmental agencies, higher education and other fields.

The inaugural IVMF fellows are:

Distinguished Fellows

• William Banks
  Syracuse University
  National security and public policy, constitutional law, civil and military relations
• Peter Blanck
  Syracuse University
  Disability law and public policy, corporate culture, ethnicity and race
• Charles Figley
  Tulane University
  Trauma and recovery, stress, families, coping and resiliency
• Douglas L. Kruse
  Rutgers University
  Employment, economic studies, industrial relations, disability
• Dean Shepherd
  Indiana University
  Entrepreneurship failure, organizational performance, cognition, learning

Senior Fellows

• Randy Blass
  Florida State University
  Human Resources, corporate culture, socialization
• Andrew S. London
  Syracuse University
  Health and health behaviors, military families, life-course, poverty, welfare
• Janet Wilmoth
  Syracuse University
  Military families, aging, family well-being, fragile families, race

Fellow

• Lawrence Plummer
  University of Oklahoma
  Economic geography, clusters, small business, firm survival

Founded in 2011 through a partnership with JPMorgan Chase, the IVMF at Syracuse University is the first national center in higher education focused on the social, economic, education and policy issues impacting veterans and their families post-service. Through the pillars of educational programming, employment and actionable research, the institute provides in-depth analysis of the challenges facing the veteran community, captures best practices and serves as a forum to facilitate new partnerships and strong relationships between the individuals and organizations committed to making a difference for veterans and military families.