MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this week, reflecting on a decade of service providing a one-stop resource for student veterans and military connected families — whether assisting in their academic journey, transitioning back in to the workforce, or assessing veterans benefits.
“This anniversary represents another milestone,” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said to the audience attending the special event, held Monday, Nov. 3, in the Keathley University Theater. “This a testament to our commitment to hold veterans and military members in the highest regard.”
Keith M. Huber, senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives and a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who served 38 years, said the last 10 years, in which he has played a leading role as a center advocate and spokesman, “have passed too rapidly, reminding all of us how uncertain and precious each day truly is as we focus on serving others.”
The Daniels Center is the largest and most comprehensive veterans center on any Tennessee higher education campus.
“We continue to learn what services are needed and how to resolve the numerous complex problems faced by our military in transition. We are humbled by the support we receive from this incredible university and our community partners as we demonstrate what is possible to accomplish for our veterans.”
Joining McPhee and Huber at the special event was Hazel Daniels, widow of the country music legend, son Charlie Daniels Jr., along with longtime supporters Tommy Baker, Doug Kreulen, David Corlew, center leaders, University Provost Mark Byrnes and other administrators and staff.
The center opened in late October 2015 and was formally dedicated on Nov. 5, 2015, in the KUC Theater. It has been providing a decade of service ever since.
In April 2016, it was named in honor of late country music legend Charlie Daniels, 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. Charlie Daniels’ Journey Home Project has provided more than $500,000 to the center.
The 3,200-square-foot Daniels Center, located in Keathley University Center Rooms 124 and 316 in the heart of campus, assists nearly 1,300 student veterans and family members annually.
“The success we’re celebrating today began with leadership and with people who had the courage to see what might be possible,” said Baker, a retired U.S. Army major general who is commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services. “This milestone represents more than a decade of service and commitment to those who have worn the uniform and to the families who have supported them while they were wearing the uniform.”
Kreulen, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, said that “as a veteran, I am extremely proud of what the Daniels Center provides to all of us. I hope you will continue to support this for many, many years to come. I could only imagine how far the veterans will go from here.”
Center Director Hilary Miller said that “even a decade later, the need has not slowed down. We provide education, employment and health and wellness assistance to veterans, service members and their families, both students and non-students, worldwide, helping them to access the benefits they have earned and transition successfully from military service to civilian life. There is never a cost. This combination of services is important and is still unique.”
MTSU senior Andrew Wundsam, 32, of Murfreesboro, an Aerospace Department professional pilot major who served 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, said he “hopes the center’s here another 100 years. They have made my life so much easier and made my stress go away. They’ve opened so many doors to benefits, showing me things I didn’t know existed.”
Along with center tours, the event featured three videos chronicling the history of the center, whose initiatives have included graduating student veteran stole ceremonies, Veteran Impact Celebration fundraisers, 9/11 Remembrance ceremonies for the attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, Transition Office, full-time Veterans Affairs staff assisting students daily in the center, special partnerships with the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville SuperSpeedway, Nashville Predators and Nashville Sounds and much more.
The 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.
— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)
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