Jim Lukeman and Dean Tonya Gallagher discuss the Center for Wounded Veterans at the University of Illinois.
 
The University of Illinois is undergoing a five million dollar campaign to create a state-of-the-art facility for the training and re-integration of wounded veterans into society.  Dean Gallagher and Mr. Lukeman discussed how the Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education will use a multidisciplinary, family-centric team approach and provide residential and non-residential services that include health and life skills management; academic coaching; tutoring and adaptive learning strategies; training in the use of assistive technology, psychological counseling, rehabilitative services; counseling and outreach to family members; and career counseling, preparation and employment services.

The Center builds upon the historic leadership that the University of Illinois has provided in disability accommodations. Pioneering innovations at the University include the first curb-cuts for persons with disabilities; research that led to the development of architectural standards that were later adopted nationally; the first competitive sports teams for persons with disabilities, and the first and still the only campus to provide a transitional student dormitory for students with severe and multiple disabilities, the Beckwith Program at Nugent Hall.

“The Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education will be a place that welcomes and supports veterans who have sustained severe and complex injuries,” said Gallagher. “It will function as a locus of activity, identity, and affiliation for veterans and their families as they adjust to the complexities that disabilities can present. We are proud that our Center will help make it possible for wounded veterans to attain a world-class education that will enable them to graduate prepared to contribute their full talents to the state of Illinois and the nation.”