The green space between the sidewalks of Academic Hall and Memorial Hall will soon be renovated to honor those who have served in the United States military.

Last week the campaign to raise funding was started. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the SEMO Veterans Corporation, known as Vets Corp on campus.

Before construction can begin around $120,000 is needed to fund the project. Board of Regents member, Southeast alumnus and retired U.S. Navy Seabee Thomas Meyer is working to make the plaza a memorial for all veterans past, present and future.

“I’m a veteran and when we came back from Vietnam we were not really acknowledged out there,” Meyer said.

When Meyer joined the Board of Regents, he realized there was no centralized location on campus for honoring veterans.

“So, by identifying as the Veteran’s Plaza, we're actually bringing in the veterans from the Spanish American War because you go back to 1873 on the university all the way up to the present on Afghanistan,” Meyer said.

The plaza will have a brick floor, flags, benches and a large stone with an inscription. The plans are currently only an artist’s rendering and are not final.

“It’s not architecturally designed to be overwhelming and glamour,” Meyer said. “It’s a block of granite with an inscription and sitting to the left and right with benches for reflection and ongoing remembrance.”

Meyer hopes to see the project completed in the next year or the following.

“If we can get it in six months we’ll do it,” Bill Holland, vice president of University Advancement, said. “We’re not going to drag this out by any stretch but we certainly want to be diligent about it.”

Those wishing to contribute to the plaza are able to buy three different sizes of comparative bricks.

Meyer said all the money for the project will be collected in fundraising.

“It’s a tight budget on the university, we won’t even think about asking them to assist us on this,” Meyer said. “This really is a veteran supported project.”

Director of Alumni Relations Jay Wolz said it will be a place for people to reflect.

“It will be an important place where students can reflect, students and staff and faculty reflect the integral role that our veterans have played here on campus as students, as alumni, as community members and just to realize the freedoms we enjoy because of those who have served,” Wolz said.

For more information on the Veterans Plaza, visit SEMO.edu/VeteransPlaza.