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Over a year and a half after its planned opening, the National Veterans Resources Center had a delayed dedication ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.

The center was first scheduled to officially open in April 2020 but Syracuse University postponed the ceremony due to the pandemic. The building was conceptualized and designed by SHoP Architects, an architecture firm headquartered in New York City. 

Brandon Dyer, the communications manager for SU’s Institute for Veterans and Military Affairs, said during a media tour on Monday that the $60 million facility has accessibility as its top priority.

“That’s in everything from our radiant heat in the sidewalks in and around the building to the fact that you really have to struggle to find a set of stairs in this building,” Dyer said. “That’s really based on the fact that post-9/11 veterans are more likely to have disabilities.”

During the ceremony, former President George W. Bush made a brief remark in a pre-recorded video message. 

“The NVRC represents a continuation of a longstanding commitment from Syracuse to those who have worn our nation’s uniforms and their families,” Bush said.

Mike Haynie, SU’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, said when veterans require care and support after coming back from the battlegrounds, such needs are often dismissed as the government’s problem. 

“The National Veterans Resource Center represents — both in a symbolic way and a practical way — Syracuse University’s commitment to paying on the moral accountability that is inherent on a model of national defense, where the many benefit from the sacrifice and service of the few,” Haynie said. 

Isabella Casillas Guzman, the administrator of the Small Business Administration under President Joe Biden’s administration, attended the ceremony as well. 

“One of the first things that President Biden spoke to me about when nominating me was the fact that he knew that too many small business owners didn’t have that network behind them,” Guzman said. “We will have a home in this beautiful building to be able to better support the veterans through IVMF and make sure they can access capital, market places, opportunities, the revenue side of the equation, as well as the networks.”

Chancellor Kent Syverud acknowledged the university’s recent ranking as the best private university for veterans. 

“We have discovered that serving veterans and military families makes Syracuse University better in countless ways,” Syverud said. “Let’s simply be the best university of any kind in the world for those who are serving or have served. Let’s be the best university for vets, period.”

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud said the university aims to become “the best university for vets, period” by 2031. pic.twitter.com/Lfzo3N3pwp

— Francis B. Tang (@francis_towne) November 3, 2021

Syverud said Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello, who previously donated $20 million in support of the construction and endowed the NVRC, announced on Tuesday they will provide another $30 million gift to endow the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Jamie Dimon, the president and CEO of JPMorgan Chase and Co., made a brief remark through a pre-recorded video. The company helped SU establish the IVMF in 2011. 

“We shared a vision to serve those who volunteered to protect our freedom,” Dimon said. “These individuals make our communities, our campuses, our businesses better and stronger through the rich diversity of experience, thought and spirit.”

The ceremony concluded with a conversation between retired Navy SEAL Commander Mike Hayes and Britt Slabinski, a retired Navy SEAL and a 2018 recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during combat in Afghanistan in 2002.

Published on November 4, 2021 at 12:00 am

Contact Francis: btang05@syr.edu | @francis_towne