About Us
Sanford Veterans Association (SVA) fosters a supportive community for active duty, national guard, reserve, retired, and separated service members at the Sanford School of Public Policy. The SVA supports prospective, current, and alumni members in admissions, academics, navigating policy focus, career development, and life in Durham.
Our Mission
We purposefully engage at three levels—Organization, Institution, and Society—to accomplish the following goals:
Culture
SVA fosters a culture of development, mentorship, and morale for student veterans and active duty service members at the Sanford School.
The SVA leverages our existing networks to enrich the lives and education of the SVA, the Sanford student body, and the greater constellation of Duke student veterans. The SVA also hosts events to promote morale and esprit de corps among SVA members and extends those events to the greater student body, as is reasonable or possible. Inclusivity is a bedrock of SVA culture and serves to promulgate greater awareness of military issues, culture, and opportunity.
Growth
SVA attracts and assists a top-tier student veteran community at the Sanford School from admissions to job interview.
In partnership with the Sanford Office of Admissions, the SVA conducts outreach initiatives with prospective student veteran communities. Additionally, the SVA collects and prepares resources to assist student veterans in the “education to career continuum.” As student veteran ambassadors, the SVA is positioned to assist prospective and current student veterans from admissions to job interviews, and everything in between. The SVA maintains organizational and institutional relationships across the Duke community to assist prospective and current SVA members.
Service
SVA provides service-oriented outreach to the greater veteran community through volunteering, fundraising, and education.
Duke is geographically positioned in one of the most densely populated veteran communities in the U.S. The SVA provides service-oriented missions of goodwill and charity to veterans and veteran families in need through our own association, the Sanford School,
and affiliated Duke student veteran organizations. We honor the courage, commitment, the service and the sacrifice of the national heroes that came before us, currently serving, and the families of those who gave the last full measure of devotion.