UC to Hold Ceremony to Honor the Nation s Veterans on Nov. 12

The University of Cincinnati will hold its annual ceremony to honor the service of veterans at

10 a.m., Friday, Nov. 12, on McMicken Commons

. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Great Hall of Tangeman University Center (TUC).

The ceremony is open to the UC community and the public and will pay special tribute to service members who are currently students at the university. UC President Gregory H. Williams will emcee the ceremony.

The ceremony will feature the color guard and up to 150 cadets representing UC’s Army and Air Force Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), as well as military marches by the UC Bearcat Band. As part of its UC tradition, the ceremony will close with a presentation of the colors and “Taps,” played by buglers stationed on the towers of TUC and McMicken Hall.

The guest speaker for the ceremony is Major General Steven R. Abt, who serves as the Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Accessions Command, Fort Knox, Ky. He is also a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Colorado State University and has performed more than $15 million in funded research in the areas of river mechanics and erosion protection.

General Abt’s service awards include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC), the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with OLC, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Meal with OLC, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Silver Order of the de Fluery.

General Abt is a Distinguished Military Graduate of the ROTC program at Colorado State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree as well as his master’s degree and PhD in civil engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Colorado and a diplomat in the American Academy of Water Resources Engineering.

For the second year in a row, G.I. Jobs recognized the University of Cincinnati among 15 percent of the nation’s higher educational institutions for embracing the nation’s veterans as students. UC was a leader among the state’s four-year institutions in its participation in the federal Yellow Ribbon GI Enhancement Program, which expands tuition benefits to post-9/11 veterans.

Veteran support services at UC also include federal approval for the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post/911 GI Bill; counseling services; clearance for military students called to active duty to return to UC without penalties for withdrawing from school; distance-learning options; and UC ROTC Programs (Army and Air Force).

UC’s Army ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) program was recognized as one of the top units in the nation, as the Bearcat Battalion became one of only eight Army ROTC programs to receive the distinguished 2010 MacArthur Award. UC’s Air Force ROTC program also received national recognition last year by being named the Outstanding Medium-Sized Detachment in the Northeast Region, placing it among the top four programs in the nation.

University offices will be closed to observe the Veterans Day Holiday on Nov. 11.