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Date September 11, 2024
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Brown’s military-affiliated students find fitting, functional and dedicated new space on campus

A new home for the Office of Military-Affiliated Students offers collaborative spaces, accented with odes to the veteran community, that enable Brown to support a growing community of student veterans and ROTC participants.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — As campus sprang to life for the start of Brown’s 2024-25 academic year, the University’s military-affiliated students celebrated their own unique beginning as they were welcomed into an expanded, renovated new space in Brown’s historic Alumnae Hall.

The spacious new home for the Office of Military-Affiliated Students (OMAS) opens into an interconnected window-lined lounge and working area replete with storage, ample seating and a kitchenette stocked with all the caffeine a student could need.

vintage photo of Brown veterans
Historical photo prints of Brown's past student veterans adorn the walls of the expanded OMAS space, connecting past to present.

One of the youngest centers on campus, OMAS is also one of the fastest-growing. Thanks to a sweeping veterans initiative launched in 2019, the number of undergraduate student veterans at Brown has nearly tripled to 58, and the cadre of ROTC participants has grown each year.

“This space offers a substantial upgrade, and we definitely plan to utilize it to its maximum,” said Mac Manning, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has led OMAS as director since 2021.

Previously, the office was housed in a small space in Vartan Gregorian Quad that could comfortably accommodate only a handful of students. And unlike traditional first-year students, incoming student veterans at Brown aren’t required to live in residence halls on campus. So beyond support and services, OMAS aims to offer a physical landing spot on campus for military-affiliated students — a place where they can study, rest between classes, organize meetings or simply hang out with friends.

“The challenge — like at many campuses — is that space is a commodity, and there’s not a magic wand that can change that,” Manning said. “So it’s really reassuring that campus leaders recognized this and put in a lot of effort to find a solution.”

“ I want the role of OMAS to be 'a la carte.' The beauty of Brown is that there are so many opportunities to experience new things, and we don’t want to stand in the way ... We want students to leverage us to the maximum for their needs. ”

Mac Manning Director, Office of Military-Affiliated Students

Manning said the goal is to cultivate a closer-knit community, and the new space includes details guided by student input that do just that. A giant whiteboard, for example, serves as the focal point of the lounge — an addition proposed by junior Jay O’Neill, a U.S. Air Force veteran pursuing a double concentration in electrical engineering and East Asian studies.

“It’s one of those things you always see in the movies — pulling all-nighters with your friends, working together with a big board to solve problems, making sure you all understand the concepts,” O’Neill said. “This room is all about collaboration, and I think that having an open atmosphere where people feel like they can contribute is one of the greatest things.”

Kloey Albertson, a sophomore who serves as president of Brown’s Student Veterans Society, agrees. While she always felt a strong sense of a belonging as a student veteran at Brown, the new space bolsters the feeling, she said.

“It’s so much more conducive to community-building,” Albertson said. “We can actually come together in one place to get to know each other better, which I think will really encourage more people to want to come and spend more time in the space.”

Even as OMAS focuses on preparing students for the future, Manning said he worked with Brown’s Facilities Management team and contractors to include creative, nostalgic design elements for the new space.

flag in display case
OMAS Director Mac Manning uncovered this antique flag and saber in storage in the OMAS's former location in Vartan Gregorian Quad. Situated above Manning's new desk, the artifacts greet visitors in his office.

Archival photos of Brown student veterans and vintage wartime posters decorate the walls. The heavy, solid-wood door connecting to the office to the lounge was built to include a porthole — a nod to Rhode Island’s longstanding U.S. Navy presence. An antique military flag and saber that Manning uncovered in the prior OMAS space have been restored and placed in a custom display above his desk.

In many ways, Manning said the combination of subtle design and flexible functionality reflects his vision for OMAS — an office that meets the vast and varied need of every student, whether they plan to fully immerse themselves in the military-affiliated community, or if “student veteran” is just a small part of their identity.

“I want the role of OMAS to be ‘a la carte,’” he said. “The beauty of Brown is that there are so many opportunities to experience new things, and we don’t want to stand in the way. In fact, we want students to leverage us to the maximum for their needs, and then jump to whatever it is they want next — and we’ll be there to provide a healthy, supportive environment every step of the way.”