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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Office of Military and Veteran Services honored the 80th anniversary of the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, widely known as the GI Bill, during a commemoration on Wednesday, Sept. 4 in the Morris University Center. The celebration brought together students, veterans and faculty to reflect on the GI Bill’s impact on higher education and American history.

Telisha Reinhardt, assistant director of Military and Veteran Services, opened the ceremony by thanking the veterans in attendance for their service. She asked the audience to raise their hand if they knew someone who attended college because of the GI Bill, and the room quickly transformed to an impressive sea of hands.

Kevin Wathen, EdD, director of Military and Veteran Services, followed Reinhardt’s opening remarks with a presentation on the history of the GI Bill and its lasting influence on Southern Illinois and SIUE.

Wathen began by exploring the historical context surrounding the GI Bill, recounting the struggles faced by veterans of WWI and WWII. He discussed the shortcomings of past benefits, such as the Bounty Land Act and Adjusted Compensation Act, which led to a march on Washington, D.C., after World War I. This march, later referred to as the Bonus Army, led to a turning point in public opinion on then U.S. President Herbert Hoover. The gaps between the World Wars prompted a need to plan for anticipated challenges posed by a massive post-war veteran population. In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill known today.

According to Wathen’s research, The GI Bill’s implementation prompted college enrollment to soar. By 1947, veterans made up 49% of admissions. More than two million veterans attended college and 5.6 million received other training, as college was still largely inaccessible to the working class at the time. It also significantly increased homeownership, with more than 4.3 million home loans granted under the program, accounting for 20% of all new homes built after WWII.

“There was massive fear that every veteran was going to get out and everyone was going to take this unemployment, nobody’s going to do anything,” said Wathen. “But only 20% did. Now you have this massive influx of veterans coming to institutions with geographic disparity in benefit access that still happens today.”

Wathen thanked and acknowledged Illinois Joining Forces, a network of community organizations that serve Servicemembers, Veterans and their families in Illinois.

“We are trying to get services to Southern Illinois, disparity is still here,” Wathen said, admiring the aptitude of the integral veterans network.

Wathen’s presentation on the history of the GI Bill was of particular interest to Dan Mahony, PhD, SIU System President.

“I always love learning about the history of things, and I’ve learned a great deal more about the GI Bill thanks to Kevin’s wonderful background and expertise.” said Mahony. “The GI Bill has had such a positive impact on veterans and their dependents. I’m proud of SIUE and how well they’ve done in providing these services and you can see that reflected by the numbers of veteran students we have.”

Wathen emphasized the transformative impact of military and veteran services at SIUE, noting that the University ranks as the third-highest distributor of GI Bill benefits in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. In front-row attendance were two SIUE students on a STEM scholarship named after Edith Nourse Rogers, a testament to the ongoing legacy of the GI Bill.

“I do believe that it’s the level of service, the hand holding we do, but also the program that we provide that draws more veterans here,” he said.

After a pause, Wathen acknowledged that he couldn’t talk about the GI Bill without talking about Bobbi Wojcik, records officer in the Office of the Registrar. Wojcik is a familiar and warm face for countless student veterans attending SIUE, certifying benefits for their military service.

“Bobbi, you tirelessly shaped the education and futures of veterans through the GI Bill, leaving a lasting legacy to generations of students,” Wathen said proudly, after presenting her with an honorary plaque.

Military and Veteran Services is housed in the Morris University Center, the student union and hub of the campus. The Office offers comprehensive support, including benefit counseling, financial aid resources and academic assistance. Wathen noted the importance of providing a centralized space on campus for veterans to connect and find community.

“It was important to me because I wanted veterans to come. They pop in between lunch breaks, they pop in between classes. The camaraderie. the things that I see going on in there, it’s because they come. Because if they come and if we were somewhere else, maybe a bigger space but less people—that’s not the point.”

The event concluded with personal reflections from guest speaker Joey James, a retired Army sergeant and SIUE alumna, who shared how the GI Bill shaped her life and career. Her story acknowledged the role of continued advocacy and support for veterans as they transition from military service to civilian life.

“I used to work as a preschool teacher, and each time I tried to get a promotion, I was passed on because of not having a diploma at the time,” James said. “I wanted to go back to school full time, but I can't, because I have to support a family. I was working full time and attending classes at night, taking three credit first semesters, so when I calculated, I'd be around 60 years old! So I needed something faster than that. I started looking into different benefits, you know, student loans and things like that. I'm like, Well, I don't want to do student loans. My kids may use it down the road, and I'm going to need to help them. How am I going to equip myself? At that time, I was approaching my 42nd birthday, and the army was recruiting soldiers before your 42nd birthday, so I saw that opportunity to join the service, to get the GI Bill. That was my midlife crisis. Everybody thinks I'm crazy for doing it, but I never looked back.”

James went on to serve her country on three overseas deployments. She used the GI Bill to earn her bachelor’s degree in social work at SIUE and earned her master’s in social work at Washington University. She switched careers from being a preschool teacher, to a social worker and now she’s serving as a Veteran Service Officer in the Veterans Assistants Commission of Madison County.

“The GI Bill provided the solid ground to financially support my pursuit of higher education. It has opened more opportunities and provided stability in my future,” said James.

The commemoration served as a reminder of the GI Bill’s lasting impact on higher education and the importance of maintaining robust services for veterans at SIUE.

PHOTOS: 1- Telisha Reinhardt, 2- Kevin Wathen, 3- Kevin Wathen, Bobbi Wojcik, Dan Mahony 4- Joey James