Before Syracuse University built the National Veterans Resource Center, campus leaders were striving to make the university a premier institution for veterans and military-connected students.
The gleaming, $62 million center punctuates SU’s commitment to that goal in a way that its many off-campus military endeavors do not. Its bright glass exterior, accessibility-centric design and intricate wooden interior make it stand out on Waverly Avenue.
Like most buildings, the NVRC began with a set of blueprints.
Mike Haynie, a retired United States Air Force officer and current vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, commissioned an architect friend to make renovation plans for the Hoople Building, which sat where the NVRC stands today.
He delivered them to SU Chancellor Kent Syverud.
“I’ll take it on me to go raise some money — what do you think about renovating?’” Haynie remembered asking Syverud. “And he looked at these pictures, and then he crumpled them up and threw them away in front of me.”
Haynie recalled Syverud replying, “Mike, if we’re going to do this, we should do this.”
After years of construction, the complex, named for donors Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello, was officially dedicated in 2021. The building houses SU’s military and veteran offerings, including two marquee institutions — the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs.
Syverud’s commitment to the military at SU began on day one of his role. In his inauguration speech on April 11, 2014, he declared: “I believe Syracuse University must once again become the best place for veterans.”