Chapman Goes Green for Veterans Operation Green Light honors veterans and shines light on available resources.

From November 6-12, Chapman University will participate in Operation Green Light for Veterans, an initiative that aims to shine a light on the sacrifices and contributions of veterans. The university will join county buildings and landmarks across the country that will be illuminated green to show support for veterans and raise awareness around the resources available at the county, state and federal levels to assist veterans and their families. 

“Participation in Operation Green Light is an opportunity for our campus to rally behind our Chapman veterans with the necessary resources to help them succeed,” says Steve Leader, director of Chapman’s Veterans Resource Center. “Our veterans bring an enormous amount of experiences to the classroom that greatly enrich the conversations for all.”

Chapman’s veteran community currently comprises two known Active Duty members, 112 known veterans and 183 students utilizing VA Educational Benefits. Since the establishment of Chapman’s Veterans Resource center in 2018, the VA Educational Benefit population has surged by 85%.

“We have a lot of veteran students who are fully funded and they are thrilled to be at an R2-ranked institution,” says Leader. “We have small class sizes and legitimately have the rigor that prepares you for any grad school.”

The campus’s Veterans Resource Center plays a crucial role in this endeavor, helping veterans navigate the intricacies of applying versions of the GI Bill and connecting them with scholarships. This support extends to recruiting veterans from community colleges, facilitating seamless transitions to college life.

Additionally, Chapman University offers the Military and Veterans Law Institute, supported by the Croul Foundation, and the Center for American War Letters, an extensive collection of war letters from every American conflict, beginning with handwritten missives composed during the Revolutionary War and continuing up to emails sent from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Visit the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) at 526 N. Shaffer St. in Orange for an open house event on Nov. 6 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. All students, faculty and staff are welcome to learn about the resources and services provided to veterans and their dependent students.