Who We Are

Mission Statement

SDSU's Military and Veterans Program (MVP) provides a diverse military-affiliated community with unparalleled support services that foster student success, mitigate barriers, and promote inclusive ventures. MVP is committed to empowering active duty service-members, veterans, spouses, and dependent children through: outreach, admission assistance, educational benefits guidance, academic success resources, experiential engagement opportunities, graduation support, and career development.

Contact Us

Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center
Student Services West, Suite 1661

Office Hours
Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. PST

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (619) 594-5813

Please consult the SDSU campus calendar for closures/campus holidays. 2023 closures (May 29, July 4, September 4, November 10, 23-24, and December 21-26).

 

 

History of The Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center

 

2000
“Veterans Walk-up Window” in the Office of the Registrar. We started with one veterans coordinator and one VA work study student. Over 8 years, we added an assistant veterans coordinator and a few more work study students.

2006 
The Student Veteran Organization (SVO) was created. 

2008
The first Veterans Center in the CSU system (23 campuses statewide). The Center had a lobby area, 3 workspaces, an office, our first lounge, and thanks to the great support of our previous President, Steven Weber, our flag pole was installed for the very first time right outside the center. 

2009
SDSU opened the first Student Veterans House in the nation offering our military students an additional space to utilize for studying, networking, building community, and for the SVO to conduct meetings and special events.

2010 
We moved to the Student Services West building—a beautiful location in the heart of the campus—near the Bookstore, which continued to demonstrate how important our military population is to San Diego State University. It was a much bigger space…more offices, a larger lobby…and we had a bigger “lounge” area, which was renamed by our veterans, “The Bunker”.
Also, about this time, we were chosen by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as one of the first three universities nationwide to host the Vet Success on Campus program with a VA Counselor on our team.

2011
With a generous $1 million endowment from Joan and Art Barron (a Navy vet, SDSU alum and retired Time Warner executive), we hosted a renaming ceremony of our Veterans Center—and from that point on would be named and known as, “The Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center”.

2015
We moved again to accommodate more staff and increasing veterans support programs. The space was redesigned and renovated. It is now located next to the beautiful Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.

Today
Our new location for the Barron Veterans Center is double the size of our former space at about 4,000 square feet and serves as a one-stop shop for military connected students. The additional space accommodates the two Troops to Engineering Coordinators, the College of Extended Studies Military Veterans Services Representative, and the Military Liaison Officer. 

We have a large walk-in area with a lobby, spaces for our staff to assist our veterans and military connected-students, a public access space, a file room, seven offices, an even larger space for the Ambassador Hostler Conference Room, and a much larger “Bunker”, and now is about 3 times the size of the last one. This space allows a place for our veterans and military students to come in and hang out, talk, study, watch TV and relax.

We now have over 20 VA work study students working in the Center, at the Veterans House and at Student Disability Services.

Our flag pole has been moved yet again to its third location and the flag waves beautifully right by The Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center.