OSU named a Veteran Employer Champion
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Media Contact: Mack Burke | Editorial Coordinator | 405-744-5540 | mack.burke_iv@okstate.edu
When veterans leave the service and look to begin a career, many look to an institution known for its commitment to veterans — Oklahoma State University.
During a Zoom ceremony on Tuesday, the City of Tulsa, Tulsa’s Community Service Council and the Oklahoma Veteran Alliance recognized OSU as a Veteran Employer Champion. The Veteran Employer Champions program was created in 2017 with the goal of building an employer network to create programming and peer-to-peer learning for organizations interested in recruiting, hiring and developing veterans in the workplace.
Vincent Rivera, coordinator of OSU’s Office of Student Veteran Success, accepted the award on behalf of the university. OSU serves hundreds of military dependents and has around 130 faculty and staff who are veterans.
“I'm very proud of Oklahoma State as a university and as a veteran community,” Rivera said.
This is the fourth year for the Veteran Employer Champion Survey. The survey encourages employers to continually take intentional steps to ensure they are creating a veteran-ready workplace to be recognized as a champion.
Denise Reid, chair of the Oklahoma Veteran Alliance Employment Committee, said the survey has seen more participants each year. As a result, the number of Veteran Employer Champions jumped from 13 to 24 this year.
“The goal with our network is really to create peer networking, peer learning, with the capability of creating a stronger veteran ready community and employers in the Tulsa region and across the state,” Reid said.
The criteria for the award are: veteran hiring and recruiting; veteran resource groups, onboarding, or buddy programs; veteran programs and community support; veteran employee resources and/or supports; veteran executive sponsor leading veteran strategies; and guard and reserve employee supports.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum spoke at the event, naming the 24 recipients of the award and praising their efforts to engage with and support veterans.
“I think there was a common vision here in Tulsa that we want to do more to highlight those employers that are doing a great job of creating employment opportunities for our veterans community and creating quality employment opportunities,” Bynum said. “We want people in Tulsa to know the businesses that support our veterans here in northeast Oklahoma. For our veterans community, we want them to know where the great employment opportunities are, where the employers are that truly value their service to our country, and who is creating jobs and long range careers that are going to reflect that.”
The 23 companies honored alongside OSU are: AAON, Inc.; AB ONE- Oklahoma; Baker Hughes; Barracuda Staffing Inc.; Berryhill Fire Protection District; BOK Financial; City of Tulsa; Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR); Goodwill Industries of Tulsa, Inc.; Lowe's Home Improvement; Lumen Technologies Inc.; Melton Truck Lines; NextOp Inc.; Northeastern State University; Oklahoma Employment Security Commission; ONE Gas; ONEOK, Inc.; PACCAR WINCH INC; Public Service Company of Oklahoma; Rapid Application Group LLC; Southern Nazarene University; Spirit AeroSystems; The Coffee Bunker.
Companies looking to join the Veteran Employer Champion Network, should contact Pete Luitwieler, program manager for CSC’s Oklahoma Veteran Connections and Oklahoma Veteran Alliance, at pluitwieler@csctulsa.org.