MTSU Daniels Center to celebrate ‘A Decade of Service’ to student veterans on Nov. 3

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center will soon celebrate its 10^th anniversary in providing a decade of service to thousands of student veterans and others since 2015.

The public and MTSU community are invited to attend the ceremony starting at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 3, in the Keathley University Theater, 1524 Military Memorial. Free parking will be available in the Founders Lot near the Stark Agriculture Center, with attendants on hand to direct traffic.

Middle Tennessee State University graduating veterans and faculty members gather for a group photo in August in the Miller Education Center’s second-floor atrium on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. MTSU’s Daniels Veterans Center has hosted more than 30 Graduating Senior Stole Ceremonies in the past decade. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

From left, Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee, first lady Elizabeth McPhee, Hazel Daniels, the late Charlie Daniels and Keith M. Huber, senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives, display the new Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center logo unveiled in the early years of the center. The event recognized the couple and Daniels’ Journey Home Project for a $120,000 gift for the center. Daniels autographed the patriotic fiddle McPhee is holding and presented it to the center as a gift from him and the foundation. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Those planning to attend should RSVP to DeAnne.Hathaway@mtsu.edu.

Keith M. Huber, senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives, will lead the program.

Speakers will include MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Tommy Baker and Doug Kreulen, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.

Keith M. Huber, MTSU senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives — Keith M. Huber

“We remain committed to serving our heroes and student veterans into the next decade and beyond,” Huber said. “They and their families have made many sacrifices. MTSU’s Daniels Center provides numerous resources for them to find their path.”

The center opened in late October 2015 and was formally dedicated on Nov. 5, 2015, in honor of the late country music legend, who was on hand for the opening ceremony on campus along with his wife, Hazel, who shared in his deep love for U.S. veterans and active-duty personnel. A Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member, Charlie Daniels died in July 2020 at age 83.

The 3,200-square-foot Daniels Center, located in Keathley University Center Rooms 124 and 316 in the heart of campus, assists approximately 1,100 student veterans and family members annually. It is the largest and most comprehensive veterans center on any Tennessee higher education campus.

Dr. Hilary Miller, director, Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center — Dr. Hilary Miller

Led by Director Hilary Miller, the Daniels Center’s mission is to provide transition services for veterans and their families as they return to civilian life after military service.

“Our first 10 years of helping veterans transition from being in the military to being college students and then move into careers has been amazing,” Miller said. “We’re excited to celebrate this anniversary, then look forward to the future.”

Huber, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, and Miller have hosted many prominent VA, military members and others for tours.

Middle Tennessee State University’s Daniels Veterans Center again hosted the annual 9/11 Remembrance this year in the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Army ROTC cadet and senior criminal justice major Garrett Ronan, right, of Chicago, Ill., begins reading the timeline of the events surrounding the Sept. 11, 2011, series of attacks on U.S. landmarks by the terrorist group al-Qaida, as fellow Air Force and Army cadets, from left, Marshall Graves of Knoxville, Tenn., Lancy Fripp of Ellaville, Ga., and De’Twan Hayes of Memphis wait their turn. (MTSU file photo by J. Intintoli)

A decade of service

Through the years, noteworthy Daniels Center initiatives include:

• Stole ceremonies that honor graduating senior veterans with the presentation of a red stole to wear at commencement. Eventually, student awards and faculty-staff veteran ceremonies were added.

• A Transition Office that helps student veterans transition from military to higher education to career.

• The annual Veteran Impact Celebration that raises critical funding for the center.

• The annual 9/11 Remembrance that commemorates the attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001.

• The MTSU Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building that honors MTSU’s fallen.

• The presence of Veterans Affairs representatives in the center to assist student veterans with VA-related issues.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, center, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve, accepts a commemorative poster from Grand Ole Opry announcer Kelly Sutton during the Opry’s Salute the Troops celebration held in Maay at the Opry in Nashville, Tenn. Looking on at right is retired Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, Middle Tennessee State University’s senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives who introduced Daniels from the stage and hosted her at a campus visit earlier that day. (MTSU file photo by James Cessna)

• Tremendous veteran-related partnerships with the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville SuperSpeedway, Nashville Predators and Nashville Sounds, among others.

Additionally, the center provides free tutoring, a veteran speakers’ series, Newcomers Briefings to welcome new and returning students and their families each fall and spring semester, partnering with MTSU’s Commercial Songwriting Program for Operation Song for veterans and is heavily involved with the annual Salute to Armed Forces football game and memorial service.

The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project, whose mission is to help veterans and heroes reintegrate from service to civilian life, continues to provide financial support for the MTSU veterans center.

For more information about the Daniels Center, visit https://www.mtsu.edu/military/ or call 615-904-8347.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)