Penn College News

Veteran-Alumnus to Discuss GI Bill in Honor of Veterans Day

Sunday, November 2, 2014

An Air Force veteran with a distinguished career in veterans affairs will return to his alma mater on Nov. 5 to discuss the GI Bill in honor of Veterans Day.

Darryl Kehrer, a 1972 graduate of Williamsport Area Community College, a predecessor of Pennsylvania College of Technology, will present “Penn College Student-Veterans and the Original GI Bill: Connected to Its Past and Committed to Its Future” on Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Mountain Laurel Room of the Thompson Professional Development Center.

The talk, presented by the college’s Alumni Relations and Veterans Affairs offices, is free and open to the public.



Darryl KehrerKehrer, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, is retired staff director of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives. He is a 1992 Woodrow Wilson Public Service Fellow and co-author of the book “Across the Aisle: The Seven-Year Journey of the Historic Montgomery GI Bill,” a case study in the art of legislative leadership with a foreword by former President George H.W. Bush.

For 34 years, Kehrer contributed to writing U.S. policies affecting military veterans. In addition to work with the House, he served in staff leadership positions with U.S. Senate committees and with two bipartisan congressional commissions examining veterans issues.

During his time at WACC, pursuing a liberal arts degree, Kehrer was coordinator of the student-veteran-run Program to Advance Veterans’ Education Center. In 1981, the college honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award.

Penn College has been named a Military Friendly School for the past six years, a designation reserved for the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that recruit and retain student veterans.

The college coordinates its veterans education benefits through its Financial Aid Office and supports veterans within the campus community by offering employment and academic guidance.

For the past several years, Penn College has also presented its graduating servicemen and servicewomen with honor cords – appropriately colored red, white and blue – to adorn their commencement gowns. The veterans are further honored during each of the college’s five annual graduation ceremonies by being invited to stand and receive the applause and acknowledgement of the commencement crowds.

For more information about the Financial Aid Office’s assistance to veterans, call 570-327-4766.

Penn College is celebrating 100 years as an educational institution of national reputation throughout 2014. For more information, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.