Rebecca Weidensaul ’95, ’01, Assistant Vice President of Student Services
Rebecca Weidensaul ’95, ’01Active-duty and veteran members of the Drexel community are some of the University’s best brand ambassadors. They live Drexel’s institutional values and are maximizing their education and life experience for the greater good, which is central to its mission.
Serving and advocating for Drexel's active-duty military members, student-veterans, and military-affiliated Dragons, the Center for Military and Veteran Services (CMVS) is a University-wide effort that provides advocacy and community, along with diversified programs and services designed for this important population. According to Rebecca Weidensaul ’95, ’01, assistant vice president of student services, who oversees the CMVS, “The Drexel Veterans Association and Veteran Student Ambassadors at the Masci Family Student Veteran Lounge are key partners in all of the work spearheaded by the Center.”
“Continuing to build this community at the University is important and rewarding, and we have collective impact through the work of the Veterans Task Force members who represent key offices and prioritize our military-connected Dragons,” she says.
And while there’s much exciting growth on the horizon, Drexel has a long history of supporting its servicemembers.
The University’s ties to active-duty and veteran students and alumni dates back more than 100 years, when the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) was established at Drexel in 1918. Students in the ROTC program complete their academic and military studies concurrently and, upon graduation, are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Army, Army Reserve or Army National Guard.
Jump to 2008 when Drexel became one of the first universities in the area to start its Yellow Ribbon program, offering complete tuition coverage for veterans and their dependents to study at any of its schools through any of its programs both on campus and online. And, to this day, Drexel is one of the few universities in the country to have an uncapped number of spots available to student veterans and their dependents to study. Each year, the University commits around $2 million for its Yellow Ribbon program.
“It was a big, bold move for our institution to do this,” said Weidensaul, whose father served in the Army during World War II and many of her family members served dating back to the American Revolution. “Not only was Drexel thinking about how to financially manage this, but it was also simultaneously thinking about how to set up systems that support students as well.”
To learn more about how the University upholds its commitment to serving those who serve our nation, visit drexel.edu/veterans.