Veterans and Military Affairs

Alex

News and Events

Respect the vest!

Respect the vest! It is against the law to harass a service dog.

First Offense: Class A Misdemeanor
Second Offense: Class 4 Felony

When service dogs are working they wear vests. This means it is not a pet.

Don't touch, talk, feed, or whistle or otherwise distract the dog while she is wearing her vest or harness.

Don't treat the dog as a pet.
Don't speak to the dog.
Don't tease or abuse the dog.
Don't touch the dog.

Service dogs are used for all sorts of reasons. Remember, if they have a vest – don't pet.

Veterans Day Celebration

Monday, November 12
11 a.m.
Conference Center

Reception to follow in the Veterans Center.

Veterans Stole Ceremony - In recognition of PSC's graduating veterans.

May 4, 2013
6-7:30 p.m.
PSC Auditorium

During this reception PSC veterans will be given stoles to wear for commencement. Refreshments will be served. RSVP will by April 13, 2013.

Contact:

Paul Pipik
Coordinator, Student Veteran Center
ppipik@prairiestate.edu
(708)709-3567

Prairie State College Starts Chapter of SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society

Prairie State College (PSC) recently became an official chapter member of the SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society (SALUTE), symbolizing the college's commitment to recognizing and encouraging the academic success of student veterans at PSC.

As a SALUTE chapter member, PSC provides students the opportunity to be recognized for their hard work and dedication.

I am very proud of our current and graduating student veterans for establishing this charter chapter," said Professor Andy Schott, faculty advisor to the Student Veterans Center and Student Veterans Club at PSC. "Through chapter activities, SALUTE members will act as mentors encouraging their peers to focus and achieve academic excellence."

To become a SALUTE member, a student must qualify as a military/veteran student under locally derived and maintained definitions by submitting a copy of DD214 or of their orders. A veteran is any current active duty member or individual who has served or currently is serving in the military, National Guard, or reserves. If no longer serving, the student must have been honorably discharged from service. Students also must meet certain GPA requirements and maintain the highest ethical standards. Selected students will receive a diploma seal, military style challenge coin, and a membership certificate suitable for framing.

The acronym SALUTE stands for Service, Academics, Leadership, Unity, Tribute, and Excellence. SALUTE is an academic organization that recognizes student veterans, active duty, National Guard, and reserve members who have displayed outstanding performance in the classroom. The association was started at Colorado State University, and is made possible by a grant from the American Council on Education/Wal-Mart Foundation.

Prairie State College to Receive Grant from Wounded Warrior Project™

Prairie State College (PSC) announced today that they will receive a grant in the amount of $25,000 from Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors.

The grant will be used by the PSC Student Veterans Center for special programming for student veterans that are returning military personnel who have incurred service-connected injuries on or after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

PSC established the Student Veterans Center in November 2011 as a place for student veterans to gather and find out more about services available to them both from the college and the community.

"Receiving a Wounded Warrior Project grant allows us the opportunity to put in place programs that will not only help Warriors as they transition to civilians, but will also allow us to honor and recognize the individual sacrifice made by these brave women and men," said Professor Andy Schott, faculty advisor to the Student Veterans Center and Student Veterans Club at PSC.

"Wounded Warrior Project's vision is to foster the most successful and well-adjusted generation of injured service members in our nation's history," said Steve Nardizzi, executive director, WWP. "As part of that vision, we want to create a strong network of community resources and encourage collaboration with other organizations supporting these heroes and their families."

It is estimated over 48,000 servicemen and women have been physically injured in recent military conflicts, another 320,000 have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment, and as many as 400,000 additional service members live with the invisible wounds of war including combat-related stress, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

About Wounded Warrior Project™

The mission of Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP) is to honor and empower wounded warriors. WWP's purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.

Past Events

Women's Social Service Forum and Career Fair

Forum
Wednesday, March 21
9 - 11 a.m.
PSC Conference Center

Career Fair
Wednesday, March 21
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
PSC Conference Center

From Boots to Books: Helping Our Veterans Make the Transition to College

Wednesday, March 28
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Room 4105

Ivy Lloyd, MSW
Program Manager
Edward Hines, Jr., VA Hospital

Ms. Lloyd will discuss the physical and mental health concerns and risk factors that some of our veterans face.

This event is sponsored by the Prairie State College Faculty Development Committee.

VA Launches Personalized Health Benefits Handbook

Download details. (PDF)

Veterans and Beneficiaries Receive 2012 Cost of Living Adjustment

Download details. (PDF)

Townhall Meetings for Veterans

Beginning Monday, January 23 and every Monday through the spring semester. The meetings will be held in room 1240 a the following times:

10 a.m.
1 p.m.
4 p.m.

Download flier.

VA Providing Credit Monitoring to Misidentified Veterans

VA Providing Credit Monitoring to Misidentified Veterans
WASHINGTON (Jan. 20, 2012) – The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering free credit monitoring to more than 2,200 Veterans whose personal information, including social security numbers, was posted on Ancestry.com following the mistaken release of data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

"VA places the highest priority upon safeguarding the personal information of our Veterans," said Jerry L. Davis, VA's chief information security officer. "When lapses occur, we will immediately take prompt remedial action, such as notification."

The family history website, which provides access to genealogical and historical information, had requested information from VA about deceased Veterans. Under FOIA, VA is obligated to release requested records upon written request unless they may be withheld. Therefore, VA provided the website with the data on March 18, 2011.

On Dec. 13, 2011, after the information had been posted on the history website, VA learned that it included data about some living Veterans because some of the death reports provided to the website were inaccurate. "Fortunately, no personal health information was included in this data release," Davis said. "Ancestry.com has worked with us and immediately removed all the information that we had supplied them.

There is no indication personally identifiable information of any Veteran has been misused. However, VA is still notifying all potentially affected Veterans so they can be vigilant and take steps to protect against identity theft. VA is also offering credit monitoring for one year at no charge to every Veteran whose name was mistakenly released and posted on the history website.

FOIA requires federal agencies to disclose reuested records unless they may be withheld under specific statutory exemptions. Under FOIA, VA was obligated to provide the website with the name, social security number, date of birth, date of death, military branch assignments, and the dates of entry on active duty and release from active duty for deceased Veterans.

VA has launched an effort to determine why information about living Veterans was included in a database about deceased Veterans. The error did not affect the VA benefits of any Veteran. VA is committed to protecting Veterans' personal information and to improving information processing to avoid erroneous data.

Veterans who believe they may have been affected by this incident who have not been notified by VA may verify whether their information was involved by writing to: Department of Veterans Affairs, OIT Privacy Officer (005R1A), 810 Vermont Ave., NW Washington DC 20420, (Attn: Garnett Best).

Affected Veterans can request a free credit report for one year from one or more of the three national credit bureaus by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by visiting http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

Information about this and other protections, including placing a "fraud alert" on credit accounts, is available by calling the Federal Trade Commission at its toll free number, 1-877-438-4338, or by visiting its website, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/index.html

Chicagoland Regional College Program (CRCP)

Open House Dates (PDF)

Need help making ends meet? CRCP offers a $500 Educational Bonus for qualified veterans! If you are ready to work as a part-time package handler at UPS in Hodgkins while attending Prairie State College, register to attend a CRCP Open House. Visit www.crcprogram.com to learn more and reserve your spot!

Contact:

Servelure M. Bostick
Recruitment and Marketing Director
smbostick@crcprogram.com
(708) 387-4622