The North Country Veterans Appreciation Committee members present the fine art print "Reflections" to Clarkson President Tony Collins. From left are committee chair Brandon Kelly, committee members Patrick Rourk and William Murphy; Collins; committee members John Saucier and Canadian U.S. Army Veteran Richard Vinet; Clarkson Vice President for External Relations Kelly Chezum; and committee member Amanda Hitterman.

POTSDAM --The North Country Veterans Appreciation Committee has expressed its gratitude for the support it gets from Clarkson University with a gift to Clarkson and its president.

During a recent event, the committee presented Clarkson President Tony Collins with a fine art print titled "Reflections" to thank the university for its contributions and support of the annual Veterans Appreciation Day, which this year paid special tribute to veterans of the Vietnam War. The artwork, by realist painter Lee Teter, depicts a veteran visiting panels 29 and 30 on the East wall side of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The North Country Veterans Appreciation Committee also presented Collins with a donation of $2,500 in support of the new Veterans Services Office being created at Clarkson.

The committee also expressed its appreciation to the university for recently becoming a signatory to the “8 Keys to Veterans Success,” a voluntary initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.

The result of collaboration at an interagency gathering of more than 100 education experts, the “8 Keys to Veterans’ Success” include creating a culture of connectedness on campus, coordinating and centralizing campus efforts for all veterans, collaborating with local communities and organizations to align services and supports for veterans, implementing an early alert system, utilizing a uniform set of data tools to collect and track information relating to veteran students (i.e., retention and degree completion), and developing systems to ensure sustainability of effective practices.

"Our committee is honored and privileged to be working with Clarkson University to help our veterans," said committee chair Brandon Kelly. "The university continues to be a leader and this commitment to veterans speaks volumes to the community and our military personnel."

"We are humbled to accept this recognition and generous contribution from the North Country Veterans Appreciation Committee," said Clarkson President Tony Collins. It is truly an honor to show our gratitude to the men and women who ensure our freedoms and liberties every day."

The committee is working on ideas for future events and also looking at the possibility of establishing local scholarships for veterans to attend Clarkson.