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Saluting a Military-Friendly University

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From pioneering new treatments for wounded soldiers to helping veterans earn university degrees, Pitt serves the heroes who serve our country.

In naming Pitt one of the country’s top military-friendly universities, Military Advanced Education—a magazine for service members taking advantage of their education benefits—praised the academic and financial-aid guidance, career and long-term goal counseling, and tuition-benefit help provided by the University’s Office of Veterans Services.

“We support veterans from the application process, with pre-admissions appointments and admissions essay workshops, to academic and social support while they are students,” says office director Ann Rairigh. “The support continues through graduation, with career fairs and military-to-civilian résumé-writing workshops.”

Military personnel also benefit from Pitt research. Scientists at the Pitt-UPMC McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM) are pioneering new treatments for wounded warriors, while Pitt’s Human Engineering Research Laboratory (HERL) modifies wheelchairs for veterans with disabilities. HERL Director Rory Cooper, himself such a veteran, has won five gold medals in swimming at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and been featured on a Cheerios box and sports hero card.

At the Veterans Administration (VA) Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pitt-trained psychiatrists help returning combat veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other problems. Among those doctors are Jeffrey Peters, a Pitt associate professor of psychiatry who was a resident and fellow in the University’s School of Medicine, and former Pitt resident Barry Fisher, medical director of VA Pittsburgh’s PTSD clinic.

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