FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Veterans of United States Armed Forces interested in attending college will have an easier time navigating the University of Arkansas starting this summer when the Veterans Resource and Information Center opens in the Arkansas Union. The center’s interim director, Erika Gamboa, is a veteran and an alumnus of the University of Arkansas, and is ready to help veterans make the transition to college life.

The establishment of the center is a direct result of the work of the University of Arkansas Veterans Task Force, which was convened last November.

“This interdepartmental workgroup sought to identify and understand the needs of student veterans, to improve their access to services, and to reduce barriers to their inclusion and full participation in campus life,” said Josette Cline, assistant director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the Pat Walker Health Center, and chair of the task force. The VRIC will provide a seamless collaboration between student veterans and numerous campus-based as well as off-campus partners.”

The Veterans Resource and Information Center will be housed on the 6^th floor of the Arkansas Union, with the physical offices opening sometime before the beginning of the fall 2009 semester. Gamboa will assume the duties as interim director on July 1.

“I am delighted to be appointed as interim director of the Veterans Resource and Information Center,” Gamboa said. “As a veteran and University of Arkansas alumna, I have a personal vested interest in the success of this center and the students it serves. This center will serve as a central point of contact for veterans and military students needing resources from campus and the community.

Gamboa enlisted in the United States Army Reserve at the age of 17. She was a single-channel radio operator specialist serving in two reserve units in Albuquerque, N.M. After receiving an honorable discharge, she enrolled at the University of New Mexico where she received dual bachelor's degrees in criminology and Spanish and later earned a master's degree in higher education from the University of Arkansas. Gamboa has worked in two-year and four-year colleges and universities for the last 12 years in various departments including Financial Aid and Scholarship Offices, University of Arkansas Housing, and at the Veterans Upward Bound Office as a counselor and academic coordinator.

“I am happy to have already established relationships with the ROTC programs and various departments across campus. As interim director for veteran’s center, I plan on strengthening those relationships in addition to building new ones,” Gamboa said.

The Army ROTC is among the oldest student organizations, and the military department, now known as Army ROTC, was among the first departments created on the campus, according to Lt. Col. Clark B. Taylor, professor of military science and department chair.

“Military training started at Arkansas Industrial University, now the University of Arkansas, in 1872 when the first male students received military instruction. Military training has been uninterrupted on this campus ever since.” Taylor said. “More than 3,000 officers have been commissioned from this campus. The university has always supported military instruction and those who have served their country and the opening of the veteran’s center will only make this better for all.”

Offices of the Veterans Resource and Information Center will be located near and aligned with Off Campus Connections, the student affairs department charged with providing resources to commuter and nontraditional students.

“Veterans, like other off-campus students, need general support in navigating the university. That is where Off Campus Connections will play an important, complementary role,” said Sylvia Scott, director of Off Campus Connections.

"We believe we have developed a sense of 'institutional readiness' at the University of Arkansas to implement needed services for veterans on our campus. Many individuals from across our institution have worked tirelessly to move us toward our goal of becoming a 'veteran-friendly' campus," said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. "The establishment of the Veterans Resource and Information Center embodies the clear vision of the University of Arkansas Veterans Task Force to support those who have given so much and who bring so much to our campus community. The veteran’s center is a very real way we can say ‘thank you’ to the men and women who have honored us beyond all measure with their devotion and sacrifice in uniform."