Fostering an Inclusive Campus Climate
When serving goes beyond the enlistment
For Chris Harris, serving his fellow military veterans at the U has been a life mission.
David Hawkins-Jacinto • October 30, 2023
The University of Utah regularly ranks among the best institutions for veterans, with more than 1,100 military-connected students attending the U—representing nearly every discipline, major, and department across campus. In 2023, Military.com ranked the U as one of the Top 8 Colleges & Universities With the Best Veteran and Military Programs, and its current students include active duty, reservists, National Guard, veterans, and military family members. These students enroll in strategic communications and business courses, attend engineering labs, pursue pre-law and law degrees, and make up a growing portion of the students on the University of Utah Health campus. You may even have a few of them in your classes right now—but you might not know it!
That’s one thing Chris Harris says he’s become accustomed to in higher ed. “We look like everyone else, so we kinda blend in,” he says.
Harris is a 20-year veteran of the Marines and the current pathways and veterans support manager on the U of U Health campus—and he also runs the Saturday Academies program through University of Utah Health Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (UHEDI). He says that at least part of the reason so many veterans remain hidden on a big campus like the U probably reflects military culture. “You definitely don’t want to stand out on a battlefield,” he notes, “or as part of a combat unit—it makes sense to blend in.” But on a large and widely dispersed campus like the University of Utah, this can make it difficult to get military-connected students the support and resources they need to thrive.
That’s where the Veteran Support Center, or VSC, at the University of Utah comes in. Offering educational program services, VA counseling and benefits advising, career coaching and peer mentoring, and a whole lot more, the VSC is the central hub on campus that serves “veterans, military-connected members, and their families” on the U campus.
Because military-affiliated students, staff, and faculty can be found on every corner of campus, Harris says resources like the VSC are vital. “Veterans aren’t a monolith—we’re individuals with different interests, identities, backgrounds, even politics,” Harris says. This diversity though, also means a diverse range of needs. More than a quarter of all veteran enrollees at the U are women, more than a few identify as LGBTQIA+, more than half are married—and these students also come from every part of the country; every socioeconomic strata; and every linguistic, racial, and ethnic background. He notes that the diversity of these students is one of the greatest strengths of the community. It also can create more than a few surprises when interacting with them regularly the way Harris does.
“When I started, I thought I might be one of only a few vets on the medical side of campus.” He notes how stunned he was to discover 60% of all military-affiliated students at the U are enrolled on the health sciences campus where he has worked for a decade. That’s part of the reason he was recently asked to help lead a new satellite support center for veteran services on the health sciences side of campus. “It makes sense to have a support post up here at the health sciences campus with so many of these students in health-related fields,” he says.
This Veterans Day (Saturday, November 11th), Harris says he hopes everyone has the chance to learn a little bit more about the veterans in their own part of the U—and the vast array of experience and skill they bring to campus. “Obviously, we’re not all the same. Veterans are in every department, at every level, and in every field at the U—there’s even one who’s a VP!” Harris says.
To learn more about the resources and services offered by the VSC or see a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs), visit the Veterans Support Center website.