September 17, 2012

Colleges Venture Off Campus to Bridge Military-Civilian Divide

Colleges Go Off Campus to Bridge the Military-Civilian Divide 1

Mark Abramson for The Chronicle

J. Michael Haynie, a professor of entrepreneurship at Syracuse U., founded a program there to teach disabled veterans how to start their own businesses. "The problems in this community are right now," he says. "They're immediate."

By Libby Sander

Ever since the original GI Bill set millions of World War II veterans on the path to college degrees, higher education has shaped many vets' transition to civilian life. But as today's returning service members confront a stagnant economy—and a society in which so few Americans share their military experience—colleges' role in that transition is expanding. It now extends to veterans who may never set foot in a classroom.

The nation's veteran population is expected to swell