About a year and a half after Chancellor Kent Syverud said in his inauguration address that he wants Syracuse University to “once again become the best place for veterans,” the university is moving closer to that goal, according to recent rankings.

The Syracuse metro area is the seventh-best place in the United States for veterans pursuing higher education opportunities, according to a new study commissioned by United Services Automobile Association (USAA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes. Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the University of Alabama, was rated as the top metro area that offers higher education opportunities for veterans, according to the rankings that were released Thursday.

Here’s the full top 10 list:

1. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
2. Lynchburg, Virginia
3. Ann Arbor, Michigan
4. College Station, Texas
5. Louis
6. Killeen, Texas
7. Syracuse
8. Greenville, North Carolina
9. Salt Lake City
10. Columbia, South Carolina

“Navigation of available benefits, services, and opportunities—including education—has been cited as one of veterans’ greatest challenges when exiting the military,” said Nicholas Armstrong, senior director of research and policy at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at SU, in a release. “This list helps cut through all the noise to identify areas where veterans and their families have the greatest chance for success both in higher education and beyond.”

The rankings were determined by measuring variables including GI Bill enrollment per capita, graduation rate and loan debt, among others. A total of 401 major U.S. metropolitan areas were measured.

“We have an unrivaled capacity to bring to bear our expertise in the professions, in disabilities, in entrepreneurship and information, and in the arts and sciences, for the benefit of our university and of those who have borne the battle and their families,” Syverud said during his inauguration address. “So let’s just do it. Because if we do, we will have done so much for our university, for this country and for our veterans.”

Since that speech on April 11, 2014, the IVMF has brought in millions of dollars in grants and donations to become a national leader in research and veterans service. The university is now exploring the idea of a veteran-focused medical school, which would train doctors and health care professionals to work at the Veterans Administration hospitals across the country. The students would go to SU tuition-free, similar to the approach used by ROTC, with the funding coming from external sources such as the VA and private donors.

The veteran-focused medical school would be a subcomponent of the university’s proposed National Veterans Resource Complex, which would serve as the center of veteran life on the SU campus. According to recent project descriptions from the Central New York Regional Economic Development Councils, the Veterans Resource Complex would be housed at 111 Waverly Ave. The NVRC would generate more than $300 million in regional economic activity over the next five years, according to a report delivered to Syverud about the veteran-focused medical school.

Published on November 6, 2015 at 4:34 pm

Contact Justin: [email protected] | @jmattingly306