Members of the George Washington University senior administrative staff received personalized hats from the USS George Washington (CVN 73) to commemorate the newly minted partnership with the GW Veterans Accelerate Learning Opportunities and Rewards (GW VALOR) program.
Vice Admiral (Retired) Mel Williams Jr., the senior associate dean for military and veterans initiatives, presented the USS George Washington’s gift to university President Steven Knapp, Provost Steven Lerman and other senior leadership in a ceremony held in Rice Hall on Tuesday.
“This was a defining moment in establishing a wonderful relationship between the USS George Washington and the namesake school George Washington University,” Adm. Williams said.
The USS George Washington is the only U.S. forward-deployed nuclear powered aircraft carrier and is stationed in the home port of Yokosuka, Japan, under the command of Captain Greg Fenton. It is home to more than 5,500 members of the U.S. Navy representing the ship, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and embarked staff.
The USS George Washington has established treaty alliances with Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Thailand and Australia and has key partners in India, Singapore, Indonesia and other nations.
“The sailors on the USS George Washington are spending 68 percent of their time out at sea and extending outreach through online education provides a great opportunity for them,” Commanding Officer of the GW Navy ROTC Captain Andrew Cully said.
GW VALOR is a university initiative to provide appropriate academic credit for military service and undergraduate and educational opportunities for military members, veterans and dependents through graduate online degree programs, general education courses and certificate programs.
Among these programs are certificate programs at the Center for Second Service, the School of Public Health and Health Services online MPH@GW and more.
Military members can find more information about the available programs at the Office of Military and Veterans Initiatives website, launched last week.
Following the hat presentation, the administrators viewed a short film made by the USS George Washington that highlighted the ship’s many travels and the efforts of the soldiers to foster positive relationships across the world.