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Dr. Haynie, Air Force Veteran, is honored at annual Onondaga County Veteran’s Day Ceremony

Syracuse, N.Y. (November 11, 2015) —At today’s Annual Onondaga County Veteran’s Day Ceremony, Onondaga County officials and the Onondaga County Veterans Council presented the 2015 Distinguished Veteran of the Year Award to Dr. J. Michael Haynie, Syracuse University Vice Chancellor of Veteran and Military Affairs, and founding Executive Director of Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans & Military Families (IVMF).

Haynie was honored and humbled by the award, acknowledging that his efforts and past accomplishments in support of the nation’s veterans and their families are only possible as a result of tremendous partners and committed colleagues at Syracuse University and across the community.

Before beginning his academic career, Haynie served for 14 years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. In 2006, when he joined Syracuse University, he founded the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program, designed to empower veterans through entrepreneurship. The EBV program has since been expanded to nine other universities across the country and graduated more than 1,800 veterans. Haynie later went on to launch the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (2011), as the nation’s first interdisciplinary academic institute, focused purposefully on informing and impacting the policy, economic, wellness, and social concerns of the nation’s veterans and their families.  To date, more than 35,000 service members, veterans, and military family members have participated in the IVMF’s vocational training and educational programs.

“As a veteran myself, I could not ask for a more rewarding and personally gratifying opportunity than to serve my fellow veterans and their families,” stated Dr. Haynie when referring to the Institute he founded, and expanding on his role as Vice Chancellor at Syracuse. “Syracuse University, under Chancellor Kent Syverud’s leadership, is writing the next chapter in the story that defines the University’s long-standing commitment to those who have worn the uniform of our nation.”

Haynie shared that he looks forward to strengthening Syracuse University’s connection to and partnership with the broader regional community. “By working together to serve, support and leverage the success of our veterans, transitioning service members, and their families; and by creating innovative public/private partnerships and initiatives, we are addressing the navigation challenges many of our veterans face when returning to the civilian workforce and back into our local communities.”

Haynie completed his doctoral degree in Entrepreneurship and Business Strategy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and his academic research has been published in many of the world’s leading entrepreneurship and business journals. Haynie is a sought after advisor and speaker related to business strategy, veterans issues, and entrepreneurship.  His work has been widely featured by the media, to include by the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes, in a story titled “Succeeding as Civilians.” Dr. Haynie currently serves as the chairman of the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach.  In 2015, U.S. Secretary of Veteran Affairs Bob McDonald appointed Haynie to serve as the vice chairman of the newly created MyVA Advisory Committee, chartered to set the course for long-term excellence and reform at the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Written by: Dr. Mike Haynie

Today – Wednesday, November 11, 2015 – is Veterans Day.

A day of reflection, Veterans Day represents an opportunity to recognize and honor the service and sacrifice of the generations of military veterans who have worn the cloth of our nation.  Our politicians will give speeches, communities will host parades, and we’ll dress ourselves in plenty of red, white and blue—and then, it will be over.  And then, Thursday will come.

On this Veterans Day, it is my hope that all Americans—politicians, plumbers, homemakers, and hedge fund managers—commit to something bigger than a parade, or a bumper sticker, or a ‘day.’  Instead, it is my hope that Veterans Day 2015 represents an opportunity for all Americans to make a commitment to each other, and to engaged citizenship.

I say that because this Veterans Day will play out in the backdrop of what is setting up to be one of the most divisive and polarizing election for the nation’s highest office.  Many, on both sides of the political aisle, admit that they can’t recall a time when the nation was so ideologically fractured.  Healing those fractures, for the greater good of the nation, is an imperative and the responsibility of all Americans.   So what does this have to do with Veteran’s Day, you might ask?  Everything.

Over the past 14 years, a small minority of Americans have shouldered the burden of a decade at war, on behalf of the majority.  I know these men and women well, and they didn’t go to war for a political party or an ideology.  Instead, they served and sacrificed for their neighbors, their teammates, their teachers, and for their families.  As Gen. Patton said, “the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.”

In the context of my experiences working for and with veterans, there are several interactions that are seared in my memory.  One of those instances was when I met a young Marine who had lost both of his legs, and part of his arm, to an IED in Afghanistan.  That IED changed the course of this young man’s life in a profoundly traumatic way, but when I talked to him about his plans for the future, I was struck by how humble and dismissive he was of his sacrifice. He talked about his future, of his big plans.  He talked about doing his duty as a Marine, and as a citizen.  He talked to me about how proud and blessed he was to be an American.

Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that this young man didn’t serve and sacrifice for a ‘red state’ America, or a ‘blue state’ America.  This young man shed his blood for his teammates, his country, and his fellow citizens.  This is not to say that our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines don’t have and deserve their own political belief systems and values.  However, it is to say that the culture of the military is such that while individual differences are acknowledged and even celebrated, a higher purpose– the ideal of citizenship and service—transcends what divides them, in a way that unifies their purpose and actions.  This is what Veterans Day has to teach us.  This is what Veterans Day has to do with politics.

It is my hope that on this Veterans Day, reflection on the selfless service and profound sacrifice of this young Marine—as well as the countless others who have worn the uniform of our nation through times of war and peace—will serve as an opportunity for all Americans to see a path to something bigger than ‘red states’ and ‘blue states.’

Let the example of our veterans represent an illustration of how we can bridge our differences and unite as Americans.  This is the best gift we could bestow upon our veterans, because this is how we do honor to their service.

* This message is adapted from a similar call to action Dr. Haynie shared on Veterans Day 2012, shortly following the 2012 Presidential Election.

Syracuse University to showcase military history through the art of song in new concert titled “Syracuse University and National Defense: Forgotten and Untold Stories”

By: Jordan Robinson

SYRACUSE, N.Y. –National defense and the pursuit of homeland security have pervaded our way of life at Syracuse University, dating as far back as WWI.  Following WWII, Chancellor William Tolley invited all returning war veterans to attend Syracuse University at a time when others closed their doors to our nation’s veterans.  Our school is steeped in veterans support and initiatives that have shaped the face of our university.  Because of this, Syracuse University has taken strides to showcase this military history through the art of song in a new concert titled “Syracuse University and National Defense: Forgotten and Untold Stories.”

The concert, performed by The Syracuse University Women’s Choir, takes the time to reflect on Veteran’s Day, when the university is focusing on its deep military roots.  The concert will feature songs that express the military history of SU and will be accompanied by a slideshow of wartime photographs taken from WWI to modern day.  Looking through the photographs with Barbara Tagg, conductor of the Women’s Choir and the creator of the concert, I could tell there was a rich history being unveiled through these slides and I was excited for the spectators to see them.

“The hope is to inspire patriotism in our community,” said Liza Kranz, Women’s Choir member whose grandfather served in WWII as a medic in the Navy.

Some of the songs that will be performed include, “The Road Home” and “Angels of Mercy,” selections that will honor those who served in wartime.  Megan Field, another member of the Women’s Choir, describes these songs as very powerful.  “Angels of Mercy” stood out to me in particular because it’s a song about women who served as nurses during the war, and I felt that message was very powerful in our immediate community.”

Barbara Tagg and I first met when she was working on this project months ago in the winter of 2015.  She had reached out to the Syracuse University Veterans’ Writing Group and asked to interview veterans as part of her research.  I happened to be one of those members interviewed.  Through the interview process, I was able to understand Barbara’s experiences with the military as well.  Barbara’s story is one of triumph over trial.  Watching her husband get called to war twice, once to Vietnam and again to the Persian Gulf, changed her perspective on veterans and military families, which was her motivation to start this project.  When Chancellor Kent Syverud announced his initiative to make Syracuse University the best school for veterans, Barbara knew this was the right time to do something special.  “For a long time I wanted to do something that honors veterans,” said Tagg.

Key players in the concert such as Dr. Patrick Jones have made all the difference in bringing the Chancellor’s initiatives to life.  Jones, former director of the School of Music and retired Air Force Colonel, has conducted countless hours of research within the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs at Syracuse University and has uncovered a wealth of knowledge in the quest to uncover our military past.  Jones will be narrating the concert on Veteran’s Day and has played a large role in the execution of the event.  Having watched this project grow from infancy, Jones would like the audience to walk away from the concert with a greater understanding of our rich military history as well as an understanding that we care about veteran’s issues.  “Veterans are a part of the DNA of our community,” said Jones, who knows the true value of our veteran history.

Collaboration is the key word that best describes this event.  From working together with various composers to gathering research through the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Bird Library, and the Syracuse University Archives, many different moving parts came together to make this event a possibility. Engaging SU faculty, alumni, and students with internationally recognized artists, this historical retrospective concert will include narration, projected photographs, and music reflecting the rich history of forgotten and untold stories.  Over 50 people were involved in the project, with contributions ranging from internationally renowned Grammy award-winning composer Libby Larsen to Chad Steffey, who arranged the first treble arrangement of The Air Force Hymn for the ensemble. Original pieces will also premier at this event, such as “While We Are On Earth,” composed by Libby Larsen.  Larsen’s premiere work is based on texts by Eleanor Roosevelt, Kahlil Gibran, and Mother Teresa.  Other important figures involved include Sean O’Loughlin and Jim Papoulis, both of whom are conductors, arrangers, and composers.

This concert showcases a return to our rich military roots by taking a retrospective look at the service men and women who have contributed to our university over the last century.  It is Barbara Tagg’s hope that “attendees will leave with a greater knowledge of the rich veteran history we have at Syracuse University, and for them to know that we are very proud of this history.”  Free and open to the public, the concert takes place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11^th, 2015 in the Setnor Auditorium in Crouse College.  From popular tunes of the era and newly composed music to memorial tributes and engaging stories, the concert is sure to instill feelings of patriotism and camaraderie as we reflect on the importance of our military history at Syracuse University.

Bernard L. Weiss

Major General Bernard L. Weiss is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, Weiss was a hometown hero, dedicated from an early age to serving his country in uniform. He attended New York University, where he was a cadet in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Government and education, cum laude, in 1955. Soon after graduating from NYU, Weiss entered the US Air Force as a commissioned officer in 1956, first serving at the New York Air Procurement District in New York City as an administrative contracting officer. Weiss continued to work in Air Force procurement, being transferred in 1958 to the 20^th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Royal Air Force Station in Wethersfield, England, where he served as a base procurement officer. Weiss served in England for two years before returning to the United States, where he was Chief of the Systems Management Division at the Air Defense Command Headquarters in Colorado. While at the Systems Management Division, Weiss was responsible for the procurement and administration of operations contacts supporting the Distant Early Warning line, the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, and the Spacetrack stations, working closely with Dutch and Canadian officials in these areas.

Weiss’ time in Colorado allowed him to develop his managerial and leadership skills, which would become important for his time at Syracuse University. While at SU, Weiss received a Master’s in Business Administration with honors in 1966 from the SU School of Management through the Air Force Institute of Technology. Having traveled to the East Coast to attend SU, Weiss was transferred back to the West Coast, where he served at the Defense Contract Administration Services Division in Los Angeles, California as a manufacturing officer and plant office chief at Garrett Air Research Corporation. He would later serve as Chief of the Contract Administration Directorate for the region before returning to the East Coast to serve in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Systems and Logistics at the Pentagon. While in Washington DC, he became a procurement staff officer and was responsible for contract policy formulation and implementation for major weapons systems such as the A-10 and F-15. His successes in the office at the Pentagon were incredibly valuable for the Air Force, who decided to transfer him back “into the field” and send him to many Air Force Bases around the country, including Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. While at Andrews and Wright-Patterson, Weiss was in charge of major systems procurement and acquisition programs.

Weiss’ track record of success in systems acquisition for the Air Force definitely helped Weiss move up the chain of command to his second-to-last post at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition. While here, he served as the Director of contracting and manufacturing policy from 1983-1985, where he was responsible for developing contract and manufacturing policy related to all major military systems acquisition. Weiss’ last post was at the Air Force Systems Command at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, where he served as Commander of the Air Force Contract Management Division. He was responsible in this post for the administration of major weapons systems acquisition contracts within the United States. He remained in New Mexico from 1985 until his retirement from the Air Force in 1988.

Weiss has received many commendations from the Air Force, from the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with two oak clusters to the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters and the Meritorious Service Award. He is also a Fellow of the National Contract Manager Association, where he served on the Board of Directors.

Major General Bernard L. Weiss is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Presence at New York Stock Exchange signifies commitment to veteran and military community

Representatives and guests of Syracuse University and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) will ring the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Closing Bell® this afternoon at 3:55 p.m., to highlight the university’s continuing commitment to the veteran and military community.

Joining Dr. Mike Haynie, Syracuse University Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), today are the following Syracuse University employees, alumni, and public-private partners:

• Michael Bianchi, National Program Director, Onward to Opportunity, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University
• Ross Brown, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, Director of Military and Veterans Affairs, JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) – founding partner of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University
• Jesse Cannella, Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) graduate, and President & Co-Founder of HonorVet Services
• Kristina Donzella, G’15, Academic Advisor, Veterans Career Transition Program (VCTP), Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University
• Paul Dottle, Executive Vice President, American Express
• Margaret Lambrecht, Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University
• Charles Preuss, ’17, Student Veteran, Syracuse University
• Ray Toenniessen ‘06, Managing Director, Development and External Affairs, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University

Earlier this year, Intercontinental Exchange – the leading network of regulated exchanges and clearinghouses for financial and commodity markets, including the New York Stock Exchange – formally announced their support of the work of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and Syracuse University.

“Syracuse University is dedicated to being the best place for veterans,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “We are proud to have the Intercontinental Exchange as a partner in our work to serve transitioning service members, veterans and their families.”

Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie added that, in addition to the positive exposure the NYSE closing bell brings Syracuse University, “the ongoing partnership with Intercontinental Exchange will help us strengthen the education and resource initiatives already in place, and help Syracuse University and the IVMF develop new ways to help our veterans be successful in their post-service lives.”

Watch the closing bell LIVE at 3:55 p.m., online at http://livestream.com/NYSE/InstituteVetsSyracuse

If you cannot watch it live, you can watch the archive at http://livestream.com/NYSE

HI-RES PHOTO (group ringing the closing NYSE bell) – Available upon request

About The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA):

The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA) serves as Syracuse University’s single point of entry for all veteran and military related programs and initiatives. It collaborates and coordinates with all stakeholders to best serve veterans, military connected students, and military family members who are students or employees at Syracuse University. For more information about the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, visit https://veterans.syracuse.edu.

About the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF)

The IVMF is the first interdisciplinary national institute in higher education focused on the social, economic, education and policy issues impacting veterans and their families post-service. Through our focus on veteran-facing programming, research and policy, employment and employer support, and community engagement, the institute provides in-depth analysis of the challenges facing the veteran community, captures best practices and serves as a forum to facilitate new partnerships and strong relationships between the individuals and organizations committed to making a difference for veterans and military families. For more information, visit http://vets.syr.edu/.

Syracuse University alumna exhibits in the SUArt Galleries; Pearsall will also photograph university and community veterans Nov. 4 and 5 as part of her Veterans Portrait Project

Syracuse, NY (October 29, 2015) – The Syracuse University Office of Veteran and Military Affairs is pleased to join the Syracuse University Art Galleries in welcoming Stacy Pearsall and her exhibit: “Hard Earned: The Military Photographs of Stacy Pearsall” to campus this fall through – Jan. 24, 2016.

Sgt. Stacy Pearsall got her start as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. During her time in the service, she traveled to over 41 countries, and attended S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Now combat disabled and retired from military service, Pearsall continues to work worldwide as a freelance photographer, and is an author, educator, military consultant, public speaker and founder of the Veterans Portrait Project.  Learn more about Pearsall’s visit to SU in feature article written by Jordan Robinson, Marine Corps veteran and president of the Student Veterans Organization (SVO) at Syracuse University.

In addition to exhibiting her work in the SU Art Galleries, and collaborating with students and faculty during her November visit, Pearsall is inviting current veterans and active duty service members of Syracuse University, and the local Syracuse veteran community to meet with her and participate in her Veterans Portrait Project on the following days:

Wednesday, Nov. 4 (10 am to 2 pm)
Veterans Portrait Project
(open to SU campus veterans and active duty servicemembers)
Dick Clark Studios Lobby, Newhouse 2
Waverly Ave., Syracuse, N.Y.

Thursday, Nov. 5 (9 am to 11 am)
Veterans Portrait Project

(open to SU and Syracuse community veterans and active duty servicemembers)
Dick Clark Studios Lobby, Newhouse 2
Waverly Ave., Syracuse, N.Y.

There is no cost for those wishing to be photographed.  Attire – uniform or civilian clothes – for photo is up to the veteran or active-duty service member. Bringing a military memento or old photo always helps, and is encouraged, but it isn’t necessary.

Pearsall will provide each veteran a free high resolution file of their portrait, which they may use for private purposes. They may have them printed wherever, and however, they choose.

According to Pearsall, “The primary use is for the veteran – a gift of thanks for their service.”   She adds that no portrait is used for any other purpose, including using some of the portraits taken for her Veteran Portrait Project, without the veteran’s consent.

Portrait sittings are arranged on a first come, first served basis during the established dates and time blocks.  For more information, contact Nancy Austin at njaustin@syr.edu.

About the Veteran Portrait Project:
Some are smiling. Others gaze at a distant point. All are veterans. The Veterans Portrait Project (VPP) began while Stacy Pearsall recovered from combat injuries sustained in Iraq. Spending hours in VA waiting rooms surrounded by veterans from every generation and branch of service, Pearsall was compelled to honor and thank them in the only way she knows how, photography. The Veterans Portrait Project totals 3,000 veterans and grows daily.  Visit http://www.veteransportraitproject.com for more information.

About the Exhibit:

“Hard Earned: The Military Photographs of Stacy Pearsall” presents over fifteen years of Pearsall’s career documenting military events and persons. Curated by Theresa Moir, a second year Syracuse University graduate student pursuing concurrent degrees in Museum Studies and Art History, this exhibition draws its content from Pearsall’s combat photography taken overseas on active duty in the Air Force, as well as her more recent Veterans Portrait Project.

Graduate student serves as curator for exhibit in the SUArt Galleries; Pearsall will photograph university and community veterans Nov. 4 and 5 as part of her Veterans Portrait Project

By: Jordan Robinson

Shadow and light play tricks on the walls of the dimly lit Syracuse University Art Galleries.  The weight of mixed emotions linger over the room like an ominous cloud.  A soldier looks up a winding and broken staircase to his comrade, who peers back with a look of bewilderment in his eyes.  The sun sets as a soldier is being medically evacuated after being blown up by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq.  The wild eyebrows of an eighty-year-old WWII veteran lend tangibility to an era fraught with confusion and angst.  All the eyes in these images have something in common:  they’ve seen hardship.

Looking through the Stacy Pearsall gallery exhibit titled “Hard Earned: The Military Photographs of Stacy Pearsall” with Theresa Moir, Art History and Museum Studies graduate student and curator of the exhibition, I could feel the solemnity and emotions pouring from these images.  As curator, Moir was responsible for selecting, researching, and arranging the photos currently on display in the SUArt Galleries in the Shaffer Art Building: October 6, 2015 – January 24, 2016.  Through countless hours of research, she was effectively able to provide context to the photographs and make decisions as to what should be displayed.  When asked how she decided which photos to include in the exhibit, she said, “I wanted to be authentic to the artist, true to her work, and true to her style.  I noted [Pearsall’s] balanced compositions and use of light and shadow, and selected photographs that reflected those elements.”

Much of Stacy Pearsall’s work is dark, but not in the sense of violence.  The collection from her deployments is one that inspires feelings of anxiety, depression, resistance, and despair, mixed among other emotions such as boredom and fear.  Rather than depict scenes of blood and gore, Pearsall’s vision of war is something much darker and certainly more foreboding.  It applies more of a humanistic aspect to war, which forces the viewer to take a cold hard look at the realities of the people living in those moments.  “I wanted to humanize what people had grown to feel was inhuman – the American soldier,” said Pearsall.  She believes that the true challenge as a journalist who covers war was having the ability to convey what was unseen more than what was seen.  “Trying to live through these moments, to capture the everyday in a foreign place, that was the true challenge.”

As an Airforce combat photographer and graduate of the Newhouse Military Photojournalism Program, Pearsall has gone on to document the lives and stories of people in over 41 countries, capturing over 500,000 images in the process.  Her outstanding work has led her to achieve the National Press Photographers Association award for Military Photographer of the Year twice.  She is one of only two women to ever receive the award.  Pearsall’s work began at the age of 17, when she enlisted in the U.S. Airforce.  During her service, she first entered combat as a photographer in Iraq in 2003.  Several of her images were used by the White House and senior officials to make informed decisions regarding the battle space.

After attending the Military Photojournalism Program at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Pearsall went on to return to war zones where she witnessed more than just tragedy.  She lived it.  Having lost her closest companions in battle, Pearsall knew she wanted to do something more to immortalize her fellow brothers and sisters. She began by taking portraits of soldiers at large, in the very real event that they might not come back.  This was the inspiration for her Veterans Portrait Project.

While the Veterans Portrait Project began as a way to immortalize and thank veterans across all ranks and services, it also served as a sort of therapy for Pearsall.  “When I started this project, I was in a really dark place in my life, recovering physically and emotionally.”  For her, it was healing to take the photos of men and women who had served.  She wanted to not only educate herself but to educate others, to show that people come from all walks of life and from different regions across the world.

When asked about her training at Syracuse University, Pearsall said, “I found that the training I received at Newhouse really evolved the way I approached my technique.  A lot of artists have a vision to begin with, but with photography it’s hard to take that vision and match it with technical skill.  I’m very thankful for my Newhouse training, as it helped me grow and learn in ways I never imagined.”  The support system Pearsall found at Syracuse University was unrivaled.  “The relationships I fostered in school helped me at a time when I was right out of deployment.  They were like a family to me.”

Pearsall will be returning to her alma mater in early November to meet the current veterans and active duty service members of Syracuse University.  An event will be held in the lobby of Newhouse 2 for Stacy to photograph current veterans of the campus community on November 4^th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for all student and employee veterans, and on November 5^th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for all other veterans in the community who wish to have their picture taken.  Following the event, Stacy will give each veteran a high-resolution file of their photo.  She may even decide to use some of the portraits taken for her Veteran Portrait Project.  Free and open to the public, this event is sure to leave a lasting impression with all of her sitters.

Stacy’s photographs mean something different to each person who looks upon her work.  “One thing I really enjoy about Stacy’s work is how she uses passageways and thresholds in a lot of her photographs.  She has an eye for seeing the bigger picture, for capturing ways of looking through and looking past,” said Theresa Moir.  To say that Stacy Pearsall has an eye for capturing a shot is an understatement.  It is more of her vision that enables her to take such moving photographs. Her ability to capture emotion in non-verbal ways demonstrates her intensive knowledge of her subjects and their surroundings.  According to Moir, “Every portrait and photograph Stacy takes forces you to question what you see. The photographs ask the viewers to confront difficult subject matter, and do so in a way that emotionalizes both combat and our veterans. Pearsall’s ability to provide this humanizing context is what makes her such a brilliant photographer.”

About the Author: Jordan Robinson is a Marine Corps veteran who served at American Embassies in Mozambique, Austria, and Cuba.  She currently serves at the Student Veterans Organization (SVO) President of Syracuse University and is an active member of the Syracuse University Veterans Writing Group.  Her dream is to become a public diplomacy officer in the Department of State in order to facilitate positive communication between nations.

Daniel D’Aniello is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story – one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Daniel D’Aniello grew up in Butler, Pennsylvania and was raised by his Italian Catholic mother and grandmother. As a “good Italian boy” as he put it, he used to help his single mother pay the bills by bagging groceries at his uncles produce company, while she earned a living working four jobs.  D’Aniello’ s childhood consisted of his working at an early age, being an altar boy and singing in the church choir, and competing on the gymnastics team. He was voted most popular in high school, but higher education would be what “changed his life”.

Opportunity presented itself: Daniel D’Aniello was accepted to Syracuse University to study transportation economics. He graduated magna cum laude in 1968 and was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma, an honor society for business students and scholars. Drafted in the U.S. Navy that same year, D’Aniello spent the next three years serving as a supply officer before continuing to Harvard Business School. He received his M.B.A. in 1974 and was also a Teagle Foundation Fellow.

He served as a financial officer at PepsiCo and Trans World Airlines (TWA), developing skills he would need when he later served as Vice President for Finance and Development at the Marriott Corporation from 1981-1987. While at Marriott, he was responsible for the valuation of major mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, debt and equity offerings, and project financings.

With his partners William Conway Jr. and David Rubenstein, he cofounded the Carlyle Group in 1987. They used politically connected advisors such as former President George H.W. Bush and former British Prime Minister John Major to buy defense-oriented firms, turning them around and selling them for profit. He serves as Chairman of the Board, running the firm’s daily operations. Today the firm manages around $203 billion across 129 buyout, leveraged finance, real estate, and venture capital funds. The Carlyle Group bought pipeline outfit Kinder Morgan for $22 billion, acquired Philadelphia Energy Solutions in 2012 saving 850 local jobs, and even has minority investments in Beats Electronics. It has become a famed Washington-based private equity firm with expansions and investments internationally, and was even inducted into the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Hall of Fame. The Carlyle Group’s geographical reach spans the globe in 23 countries on six continents, making it one of the largest private equity firms in the world.

Currently, D’Aniello serves as Vice Chairman of the American Enterprise Institute’s Board of Trustees, in addition to serving on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Syracuse University, and on the Corporate Advisory Council of the Whitman School of Management.

According to the Forbes 400 richest people in America this year, Daniel D’Aniello made #229, with a net worth of $2.8 Billion, which he has made through private equity. The Carlyle Group’s big returns have made D’Aniello and his family rich and continues to show his gratitude through donations to several institutions, one of which is Syracuse University. The D’Aniello Entrepreneurship Internships, an internationally recognized initiative, are named after him as a testimony to what he stands for: the entrepreneurial spirit, hard work, imagination, aggressiveness, tenacity, and strong moral values. D’Aniello also made a huge contribution to the American Enterprise Institute of $20 million, in order to help the conservative think tank move into its first permanent home in history.

Daniel D’Aniello has also been married to his wife Gayle for thirty-six years and are the parents of two daughters. They currently reside in Vienna, Virginia.  His rags to riches life has inspired other entrepreneurs and will continue to do so.

Daniel D’Aniello is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.