Representative Jeff Crank visited UCCS on February 18 to convene a Roundtable on Veterans’ Affairs.
The goal of the roundtable was to provide Representative Crank and visiting U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs staff with on-the-ground insights into veterans’ health care access, transition and workforce changes and veteran economic opportunity in the Pikes Peak region.
Chancellor Sobanet was honored to host the roundtable and CU Regents Ken Montera (Chair, CD-05) and Frank McNulty (CD-04) came to campus to join the discussion. Crista Hill, UCCS Director of Military and Veterans Affairs and Air Force Veteran, and Chip Benight, Ph.D., Executive Director for the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at UCCS, joined also to represent UCCS and speak to the efforts of their departments in improving veterans’ and military-aligned individuals’ academic and professional success and health and well being.
“Today’s discussion reflects the power of partnership – bringing together leaders across sectors to ensure that those who have served our country have every tool they need to embark on their next missions: academic success, meaningful employment, strong health, and lasting economic opportunity,” said Chancellor Sobanet during the event.
Representative Crank serves on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). Both the HASC and Committee on Veterans Affairs govern important aspects of veteran and military federal policy. HASC holds the jurisdiction on defense policy, military operations and reform at the DOD, and the Committee on Veterans Affairs is the authorizing committee for the Department of Veterans Affairs and is responsible for recommending legislation expanding, curtailing or modifying of existing laws related to veterans’ benefits.
Here at UCCS, with 28% of the UCCS student population being military-aligned, UCCS is dedicated to supporting veteran students, active duty service members and their families, and UCCS was recently named to the 2025 list of Best For Vets Colleges by Military Times. At the Lyda Hill Institute for Resilience there is a significant history dating back to 2014 in helping veterans and their families, and the Veterans Health and Trauma Clinic, part of Lyda Hill at UCCS, has served over 4,000 veterans and their families during this time period. Lyda Hill also is working in partnership with the 4th Judicial District to provide assessments and therapy to veterans involved in the Veteran Trauma Court. Recently, through a UCHealth partnership, 38 veterans have been helped through the Institute’s Milestones Resilience Care program, which focuses on whole person empowerment.