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Veterans

In Focus

Harvard and the Military

Since colonial times, Harvard has had strong ties to America’s military, and continues to advance scholarship in defense, leadership, and diplomacy.

Learn more about Harvard’s military legacy

Generations of service

Dating back to the American Revolution, Harvard University has shared a deeply interwoven history with the U.S. military.

Learn more about these ties

Shannon Jackson

After a career in the U.S. Navy, Shannon came to the Harvard Kennedy School as part of the inaugural cohort of American Service Fellows.

Read more about Shannon

Daniel Evrard

Daniel, an Air Force veteran and GSAS Ph.D. student, examines decarbonization, social ties, and policy in California’s oil country.

Read more about Daniel
During my three years in the Air Force, I counseled many young service members. It was a privilege to serve alongside those who serve our country.”

Jenna Carson

Former military chaplain, U.S. Air Force

Read more about Jenna’s work
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An alum's journey
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Blake Lusty

A Harvard Business School alum, Blake spent more than a decade in the U.S. Navy, completing four combat deployments across 25 seas and four oceans and rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. What his military record doesn’t capture is that he did it all while navigating repeated cancer diagnoses and major health setbacks.

Learn more about Blake

On campus and beyond

From academic resources to dental care, a variety of Harvard programs focus on veterans and their needs.

Two dental students wearing scrubs pose with an older man wearing a U.S. Navy hat.

Providing care

To help address a critical gap in care for veterans, students at Harvard School of Dental Medicine host the annual “Give Veterans a Smile” clinic, which provides free dental care to veterans and their spouses.

Providing care

Preparing for service

Harvard was home to the first Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) battalion, formed in 1916. In recent years, there has been an increase in students interested in military service.

Preparing for service

Supporting scholarship

Harvard Kennedy School’s American Service Fellowship provides full scholarships for public servants and military veterans for a one-year master’s degree.

Supporting scholarship

Protecting rights

Students in Harvard Law School’s Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic work to protect the rights of veterans and their families.

Protecting rights

Showcasing photojournalism

The Harvard Art Museums hold a collection of Vietnam War photographs produced for the U.S. Army.

Showcasing photojournalism

Research and innovation

Members of the Harvard community are working to solve the problems and alleviate the issues encountered by veterans and the U.S. military.

Explore Maithili's work
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Life-saving treatment for wounded soldiers

Harvard bioengineering graduate Maithili Joshi developed an injectable, self-assembling peptide that rapidly targets internal bleeding, binds to platelets, and speeds clotting without disrupting normal blood function, offering a new treatment for one of the leading causes of preventable trauma death.

Learn more about the research

Safer surgery in the field

Incubated at MIT and Harvard, SurgiBox SurgiField is a portable operating room that creates a safe environment to treat patients in war zones and disaster-affected areas.

Military radio frequency monitoring

Three Harvard School of Engineering students created Distributed Spectrum, a low-cost network of radio-frequency sensors that detects and locates signal interference, helping the military identify jamming or electronic attacks and protect communications.

ALS risk research

Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are studying veterans’ risk of ALS, a fatal nervous system disease.

Mobility challenges

Inspired by injured soldiers, former U.S. Army airborne engineer Bradley Scott Wagman co-founded Sole 1, which uses embedded robotics to help people with mobility challenges walk with confidence.

Veterans at risk of suicide

Harvard Medical School’s Ronald Kessler is developing prediction models to try to pinpoint who is at risk of suicide and determine the best ways to help them. The work has enormous potential to save veterans’ lives.

Education and service

Meet some of the Harvard students and alumni who have served in the U.S. military.

Elam Jones

An alum of both Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Law School, Elam, a current Ph.D. student, is also an ordained Baptist minister, hospital chaplain, and eight-year veteran of the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Read more about Elam

Leah Foodman

Before coming to Harvard Law School, Leah, a West Point graduate, served as an Armor officer in the U.S. Army, managing tanks and cavalry operations.

Read about Leah

Patrick Kuiper

A Harvard School of Engineering alum, Patrick is teaching math to the next generation of Army cadets at West Point.

Read about Patrick
Meet Lindsey
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Lindsey Chrismon

While attending West Point, Lindsey, a U.S. Army veteran and recent Harvard Business School graduate, made history as the first female pilot of the AH-6M Little Bird helicopter in the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. She also served as Brigade Commander and First Captain, becoming only the fourth woman to hold the academy’s top leadership role.

Learn more about Lindsey

Cory Garbe

After retiring from the Army following 24 years of service, Cory first came to campus as part of the Warrior-Scholar Project, a program that helps veterans prepare for college.

Read about Cory

Gary Whipple

Before enrolling at Harvard Extension School, Gary spent two decades leading soldiers, deploying multiple times worldwide, and commanding air defense and military intelligence units.

Read more about Gary

Raman Solanki

After serving as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, Raman became an Empowerment and Impact Fellow at the Graduate School of Education to hone the leadership skills needed to address conflict in complex situations.

Read about Raman

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