Have you thought about becoming a college professor after military service? It is one of the dream jobs I hear about from transitioning senior military members, both officers and enlisted. As lifelong learners, a professorship seems like one of those jobs that make a difference. Yet transitioning veterans tell me they can't even get the interview.
"There are enormous barriers there," Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families, said in a recent interview. "Far more people want to do it than can. Absent being famous or having a prior relationship with the university that you are able to develop, doing anything more than being an adjunct professor is pretty much impossible."
Until now.
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The Chamberlain Project, an initiative of Blue Star Families, is building a bridge for transitioning military members to enter academia, particularly in some of the nation's most prestigious liberal arts colleges. The program aspires not only to empower veterans, but also to give students a more grounded relationship with military professionals who have dedicated their lives to public service. This is an invaluable experience to those students who will become future leaders in politics, policy and industry.
It is an exciting development for veterans, too. Like Hiring Our Heroes and American Corporate Partners help bridge the gap into Fortune 500 companies, Blue Star Families is doing the same thing into universities through these fellowships.
How the Fellowship Works
As a fellow, recipients are either paid a stipend for research or they become a retired officer teaching fellow teaching two classes per semester. This schedule allows them time for their transition tasks as well as getting used to the academic load. The university pays half the salary, and the Chamberlain Project pays the other half.
To qualify for the program, applicants must be currently transitioning out of the military. They don't need to have extensive teaching experience, but they must have already completed their terminal degree -- meaning the highest possible degree in their profession. This is usually a Ph.D., but terminal degrees can also include a juris doctor (JD) in law, a doctor of medicine (M.D.), a doctor of business administration (DBA) or a doctor of education (Ed.D.).
Candidates must complete an online application form, including a letter of interest and a current curriculum vitae (CV). Applications for the next cohort will open Aug. 4. 2025.
Navy veteran Matthew Hawks, whose Ph.D. is in operations research, is just completing his fellowship. In his last assignment, he taught probability and statistics at the US Naval Academy. Yet even as a professor, he expected difficulty in breaking into the university system because of the hiring process. Universities require advanced degrees and publication records, as well as a knowledge of and a network into academic culture.
"Most schools hire through a competitive nationwide search that is one of the longest in any industry -- nearly a year," Hawks told me. "That's the beauty of the Chamberlain Project. They were able to take my CV to the schools and do the marketing for me."
At Georgetown University in Washington, D.C, Hawks taught two classes each semester in statistics and regression analysis.
"I really love teaching, but I had to adjust to a civilian student mindset," Hawks said. "I had to get to know the students more to see what would motivate them."
He found he had to change examples he used and take more time for mentorship. Hawks has been offered an extension of his contract to teach another year at Georgetown.
The program has already garnered partnerships with prominent institutions. While the full list is expansive, some of those prestigious colleges include Amherst College in Massachusetts, Georgetown and Howard University in the nation's capital, Hamilton College in New York and Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
"We hope this program encourages veterans to finish their Ph.D.s and bring their invaluable life experiences into the classroom," Roth-Douquet said.
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