Brown’s military-affiliated students find fitting, functional and dedicated new space on campus

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - As campus sprang to life for the start of Brown's 2024-25 academic year, the University's military-affiliated students celebrated their own unique beginning as they were welcomed into an expanded, renovated new space in Brown's historic Alumnae Hall.

The spacious new home for the Office of Military-Affiliated Students (OMAS) opens into an interconnected window-lined lounge and working area replete with storage, ample seating and a kitchenette stocked with all the caffeine a student could need.

One of the youngest centers on campus, OMAS is also one of the fastest-growing. Thanks to a sweeping veterans initiative launched in 2019, the number of undergraduate student veterans at Brown has nearly tripled to 58, and the cadre of ROTC participants has grown each year.

"This space offers a substantial upgrade, and we definitely plan to utilize it to its maximum," said Mac Manning, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has led OMAS as director since 2021.

Previously, the office was housed in a small space in Vartan Gregorian Quad that could comfortably accommodate only a handful of students. And unlike traditional first-year students, incoming student veterans at Brown aren't required to live in residence halls on campus. So beyond support and services, OMAS aims to offer a physical landing spot on campus for military-affiliated students - a place where they can study, rest between classes, organize meetings or simply hang out with friends.

"The challenge - like at many campuses - is that space is a commodity, and there's not a magic wand that can change that," Manning said. "So it's really reassuring that campus leaders recognized this and put in a lot of effort to find a solution."