Researchers, practitioners gathered for Veterans in Society meeting

As a top 10 school on the Military Times’ Best for Vets list, the University of South Carolina is no stranger to improving the experiences of veterans and military-affiliated students on campus. 

Last month, several groups on campus joined together to demonstrate the university’s commitment to this important campus population. At the Veterans in Society Conference--hosted on campus March 14-15 as a collaboration among the University Press, Veterans and Military Affairs, the Anne Frank Center and Continuing Education and Conferences—members of the Veterans Studies Association gathered to explore broad issues facing veterans on a national scale. 

“The collaborative success of this meeting is a direct result of Provost Donna Arnett’s efforts to connect the different units under her purview,” says Katherine Progler, director of events and outreach for the university’s Veterans and Military Services office. “Thanks to Provost Arnett, we recognized our complementary expertise and our associated missions, and then worked together to host members of the Veterans Studies Association.”

The Veterans Studies Association is a national organization of scholars dedicated to issues pertaining to veterans and their interactions with civilian life. Drawing a crowd of about 80 researchers from across the United States, the 2024 conference provided fertile grounds for scholars, researchers and practitioners to explore this year’s theme, “Tidal Change in the Sea of Good Will.”

USC was an ideal place for the association to host a conference focused on shifting societal narratives around the military and how institutions can serve those who have served us.

“USC has become both a practical, implementing hub in higher education and we are an incipient research hub in veterans' studies,” says Michael McGandy, director of the University Press. “For people who care about military matters, both in service and beyond, for veterans and civilians, USC is an important place to be.”

At the conference, scholars from across the nation and guests from the Student Veterans of America had the opportunity to tour Columbia with Historic Columbia and explore the history of Fort Jackson. The visit sparked conversations about the university’s own strides toward embracing and supporting the needs of military-affiliated students. 

“We are focused on the mission of making sure that veterans are understood and seen and heard, not just in their own communities but on a broader scale,” says Progler. “We wanted to showcase how military-inclusive our university is and how we really are focused on setting veterans up for success.”

In addition to spotlighting the university’s current work in veterans’ and military affairs, the conference also presented an opportunity for the USC Press to launch a book series on veterans studies. The series will position USC Press as a key publisher in the interdisciplinary subfield of veterans studies, further embedding the University of South Carolina in the conversations involving the military-affiliated population.

At the heart of the conference’s impact is the momentum it sparked among attendees.

“Pretty much every person at the conference is doing some form of outreach or is in the community doing hands-on stuff,” McGandy says. “They came to USC in March to learn things to make people’s lives better. They have bonds created through common cause and they’re sharing their research to improve lives, the economy, and the general character American public life. Everyone who attended left energized, with their commitments to service reaffirmed. There was just a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of goodwill.”