Shepherd Unviersity has announced that they will dedicate a new on-campus center for 180 student veterans on Tuesday. They are also set to do the first lecture in a new series honoring the late Shepherd alumnus Brig. Gen. Wayne "Speedy" Lloyd.
Ribbon cutting is scheduled at 6:45 p.m. in the new veterans center off the first-floor main entrance at Gardiner Hall. The lecture will be held in the Erma Ora Byrd Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. The lecture's free and open to the public.
The veterans center's main goal is to help student veterans make the transition from military life to college life. From the historic Free School on Princess Street in Shepherdstown they decided to move the location after student veterans said they needed more space.
The veterans center's vice president, Cody Munro, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and also a junior working on a degree in criminal justice said they were invited to a panel discussion to talk about overall issues affecting veterans. Shepherd President Mary J.C. Hendrix gave her full support for the campus veterans and catered to the things that were needed at the center.
Munro added that many veterans didn't use the downtown center because they didn't know it existed. They center needed to be on campus to reach out to more student veterans who are not aware of what it offers. The university should inform incoming veteran students as well about the center at orientation.
The Herald Mail Media reported that Maj. Gen. Eric Vollmecke, deputy director for strategic plans and policy at the Pentagon, will be the speaker launching the lecture series on Tuesday. He was a friend and former colleague of Lloyd and delivered the eulogy at Lloyd's funeral.
Lloyd graduated from Charles Town High School in 1962 and had a science degree at Shepherd University. In 1977, he joined the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard. He flew C-130 cargo planes for more than 30 years, ranked up and took over the Martinsburg base as its commander in 1989.
