Champlain Veterans Memorial Dedicated on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012

BURLINGTON, VT (Nov. 12, 2012)— Champlain College today dedicated a new Veterans Memorial to members of the military and their families, past and present, who have attended Champlain College. The stone memorial is located adjacent to Aiken Green between Foster and Wick Halls.

Timed to coincide with the signing of the Armistice that ended hostilities on the Western Front in World War I (on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918), the dedication featured six speakers: Champlain College Provost Robin Abramson (speaking on behalf of President David Finney); Chair of the Champlain College Board of Trustees Laura Dagan; Vt. Gov. Peter Shumlin; Brigadier General Steven Cray; Digital and Computer Forensics Assistant Professor and Afghanistan War veteran Christian Balan; and former Vt. Gov. James Douglas.

A color guard from the Vermont National Guard presented the colors, which flew most recently on the USS Lake Champlain. The flag was acquired specifically for the dedication by Dave Gerns, Champlain's veterans' financial aid advisor. Many staff, faculty and students in the military were on hand for morning event that drew about 100 people.

In addition, the memorial service highlighted Champlain's participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which provides a significant tuition waiver for veterans who qualify for assistance. A reception hosted by the Miller Information Commons followed in the library lobby.


Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 90 residential undergraduate and online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition. For the fourth year in a row, Champlain was named a "Most Innovative School" in the North by U.S. News & World Report's 2019 "America's Best Colleges,” and a “Best Value School” and is ranked in the top 100 “Regional Universities of the North” and in the top 25 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching.” Champlain is also featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges for 2019 as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada and Great Britain and is a 2019 College of Distinction. For more information, visit champlain.edu.