UM Hires Air Force Veteran to Oversee Veteran and Military Services

Alexander will oversee the university's communications with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure veterans and military-connected students – children, spouses or other veteran dependents – have access to the educational benefits they earned during their service to the nation.

"But this position is a lot more than just that," Alexander said. "I don't want to put every veteran in the same box, but I can speak from my own perspective. A lot of us feel like we don't fit in when we transition out of the military. We leave our military family and lose a sense of our identity.

"Having a place on campus like this is really important to me because veterans can look at this building and say, 'That's my team now.' Having that refuge here at the George Street House – somewhere they can belong – that means something."

Alexander brings a wealth of experience to the position, said Perry Sansing, associate general counsel and special assistant to the chancellor for governmental affairs.

"The Office of Veteran and Military Services exists to serve and help the men and women who have sacrificed, along with their families, to serve our country," Sansing said. "What stood out during the search process is Jeremee's dedication and concern for veterans and their families.

"We all appreciate his commitment to ensuring that Ole Miss remains an outstanding military-friendly university."

Before joining the Ole Miss staff, Alexander spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force in the Security Forces career field. He held positions that ranged from patrolman and combat tactics instructor to providing presidential and nuclear security.

After retiring, he continued serving the Department of Defense for six years as a defense contractor providing critical warfighting equipment to various countries around the world.

This new chapter in his life is about ensuring veterans are successful at Ole Miss and beyond.

"For every person we represent here – veterans and military connected students, faculty and staff – I want them to be prepared for where they go next," he said. "I want to help them realize they're just as competitive as anyone else."

Alongside his military experience, Alexander brings a passion for helping others, said Jesse Parkman, a senior creative writing major from Monticello and president of the Student Veterans Association.

"After meeting with him and talking to him, I think he's going to do a great job," Parkman said. "He's got a vision for how to help veterans and military-connected students, and that's what you hope for in a director.

"He's passionate about helping veterans and military-connected students, and he understands some of the challenges they face when approaching academia and civilian life."

The office, in the George Street House behind the Lyceum, provides a place for military-connected students, faculty and staff to ask questions, congregate and access benefits, Alexander said.

Alongside those purposes, the George Street House also provides mental health counseling services, a resource that Alexander said he wants to encourage military-connected students and veterans to use.

"Our embedded counselor is critical to this community," he said. "Not just for military members, but for their families. But too often in the military, it's seen as a source of weakness to walk into the door of a mental health counselor.

"I don't think that's a weakness. That's a sign of strength."

Alexander will be charged with working with state and federal government officials to help shed light on issues affecting veterans and military-connected students.

"We want to influence the chain, so to speak, from down in Jackson to all the way up to D.C.," he said. "That's a big part of my mission here. I want to make sure any military-connected student – here or elsewhere – is taken care of. Whatever we can do to influence that from here, that's what we'll do.

"It takes a spark to light a fire. We're going to be both."

Top: Jeremee Alexander is the new director of the Office of Veteran and Military Services. Alexander brings more than two decades of experience with the U.S. Air Force to the position, along with a passion for helping veteran and military-connected students thrive. Photo by Clara Turnage/University Marketing and Communications