Honoring Our Veterans

From October 1973 to October 1975, Terry Dibble served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. After completing his service, he began attending OU, where he ultimately earned his bachelor’s degree in 1979.

Terry Dibble

Throughout his career as a student, Dibble utilized OU’s Veterans Support Services (VSS). His involvement has since continued, beginning again in the late 1990s. Hired as a special lecturer for OU’s Exercise Science program, Dibble also became connected to VSS.

Since 2020, his role has transitioned from special lecturer to special instructor. Throughout the transition, his involvement with VSS has remained fully intact.

“I’ve steadily promoted VSS’s programs,” Dibble said. “And the Veterans Office has always been available to help in any way.”

Michael Maenke (’16) agrees. As a student, he noticed a strong veteran presence on OU’s campus. Now, as the OU William Beaumont School of Medicine’s development associate, he has connected with fellow veterans again, while attending various events with them.

“Making time and space for us to connect has reminded me why I loved attending OU as a student veteran, and why I’m proud to be back as an employee,” Maenke emphasized.

A former Marine who served in Iraq, Maenke has personally witnessed OU’s welcoming, supportive atmosphere. He also appreciates the employee tuition assistance OU offers, noting it can particularly help veteran employees who previously used their GI Bill benefits for a bachelor’s degree.

Kyle Seybold

These veteran employees (as well as other eligible employees) can receive 100% free tuition for an advanced degree or a second undergraduate degree. In Maenke’s opinion, it enables them to “distinguish themselves as leaders.” They’ll set a “standard for excellence” that they’re known for, too.

“I have seen OU from the student and employee side,” Maenke stated. “There is something truly special about this place.”

Since he was first hired on October 13, 2025, as an office assistant for OU’s College of Arts and Sciences, Kyle Seybold has been well supported as a veteran. A U.S. Army Infantry and Michigan National Guard member, Seybold met with Lisa Rhoades right away.

As VSS’s coordinator, Rhoades discussed OU’s veterans offerings with Seybold. She also mentioned its Veteran Employee Resource Group (VERG), which she is president of. Ultimately, Seybold chose to join the VERG’s board as its secretary.

VERG’s mission is to provide professional and personal resources for the recruitment, retention and development of veterans on OU’s faculty and staff, as well as their dependents.

“We hope to further develop the VERG with events, meetings and networking,” Seybold said.

An official employee resource group since this October, the VERG has been one of Rhoades’s primary visions the last two years.

She’s optimistic that it will further unify roughly 40 veterans who currently serve OU as faculty and staff members. Additionally, she believes it will enhance OU’s veteran offerings for students and employees alike.

“As our veterans become more visible and engaged, our campus’s veteran community will likely become stronger,” Rhoades concluded.