The Military in Management Education: Key Lessons and Learning Practices for Veteran and Yellow Ribbon Focused Management Programs

Keywords: Veterans, Yellow Ribbon , Management Education

Abstract: The past decade has seen a rapid increase in graduate and management programs focusing on Yellow Ribbon (i.e., veteran degree programs) as moving beyond just fulfillment of GI bill requirements toward a strategic avenue of program enhancement. Among the leveraging and use of this program includes research that shows that military veterans, largely because of their training and exposure to forms of VUCA leadership, can deal with greater complexity and the demands for agility. This is despite some research that would argue that due to greater socialization into more rigid hierarchies, veterans may be less tolerant to chaos in leadership and uncertainty. In this session, we will outline a set of best practices including from the perspective of military veterans; those who have taught to this audience; as well as those in academic administration to better address this audience needs in graduate and management programs.