Reunion 2025 Military & Veteran Alumni Recognition Ceremony

Office of Military and Veterans Affairs

08:30 AM ET Sat., May. 31, 2025

Join Us Virtually for the Notre Dame Alumni Association Reunion Military & Veteran Alumni Recognition Ceremony!

The University of Notre Dame Alumni Reunion Military & Veteran Recognition Ceremony honors and celebrates Notre Dame alumni and their families who have served or continue to serve in the United States Armed Forces. The ceremony includes an official party, invocation, National Anthem, guest speaker, recognition of alumni veterans, playing of service branch songs, a moment of silence for POWs/MIAs, and a benediction.

If you can’t make it back to campus, we’ve got you covered! You can still be a part of this special event recognizing all Notre Dame alumni and their families who have served or continue to serve in the United States Armed Forces. Please join the livestream on Saturday May 31, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Ken Heckel ’96, director, Military and Veterans Affairs, University of Notre Dame

Kenneth Heckel ’96 is Notre Dame’s director of military and veterans affairs. In this capacity, he provides strategic direction on behalf of the provost for the University’s national defense, military, and veteran-related programs. Heckel works closely with students, faculty, administrators, staff, and external partners to create, manage, and coordinate defense, military and veteran-related initiatives across the academic enterprise.

As a 23-year veteran and retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, Heckel served in operational organizations and assignments across the world. While stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Heckel served as a commander in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 82nd Sustainment Brigade, as well as a staff officer in the 3rd Special Forces Group. During his initial overseas deployments, Heckel served as a staff officer during peace-keeping operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999, and during the early phases of operations in Afghanistan in 2002 with the 3rd Special Forces Group. Heckel also served as a commander during his two deployments to Iraq in 2003 and 2010, as part of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

When not serving overseas or in operational assignments, Heckel spent the balance of his military career as an Assistant Professor of Economics and the Director of Academy Advancement at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Heckel received numerous awards and honors for his military service, most notably the Legion of Merit medal, multiple Bronze Star medals, and the Senior Parachutist Badge.