STATE COLLEGE, Pa. –
Pennsylvania Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler visited Penn State’s Student Veteran Center on Sept. 16.
The center, which is located in the university’s Ritenour Building, opened in November 2019. It includes a lounge, a study area, a conference room and multi-use rooms that provide space for student veteran organizations, support groups and programming.
The 6300-square-foot center also serves as the home of Penn State’s Office of Veterans Programs, which provides assistance with GI Bill benefits, transition-to-college programs, peer-to-peer mentoring and support, and counseling resources.
“I was thoroughly impressed by the services Penn State’s Student Veteran Center provides to not only to veterans but currently serving members of the military,” Schindler said. “And it’s not just the services they provide in the brick-and-mortar building itself. The outreach they do beyond that building to attract veterans and provide services that they might not know where to obtain is fantastic.”
The Ritenour Building was originally built in 1929 and previously housed the University Park campus’ health clinic. Penn State spent over a year renovating it at a cost of $4 million.
The building is also home to the Office of Veterans Affairs and Services, which provides overall leadership in the development, planning, execution and coordination of veteran programs and services across the entire university.
Schindler lauded Eugene McFeely, Penn State’s senior director for veteran affairs and services, and the staff at the veteran center for all their work in support of the university’s veteran community.
“Gene and his team are doing an outstanding job,” Schindler said.
As adjutant general, Schindler heads the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which provides programs and services for the state’s more than 800,000 veterans.