Rooted in Service: Mike Danko Is the Heart of CMU’s Veteran and Military Community

Mike Danko’s career has been defined by service. He spent 26 years as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, taking part in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2008, he’s helped direct programs and services for the veteran and military community at Carnegie Mellon University.

As CMU’s ROTC program manager and veterans services coordinator, Danko is part of the University Registrar’s Office. What began as a narrowly defined role supporting the Naval ROTC staff has evolved into a multifaceted position that touches nearly every corner of the university’s military community. 

“Basically, for everything veteran-related, I’m the guy,” Danko said.

Danko manages the educational benefits for all military affiliated students, including those on Naval, Army or Air Force ROTC scholarships; veterans and dependents eligible for veterans education benefits under the GI Bill; and active-duty students on tuition assistance. He’s the liaison between the university and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The veteran and military community at CMU consists of more than 200 students. Danko’s primary function is to cut through bureaucratic red tape.

“A big part of my job is to give these students, no matter who they are — student veteran, ROTC, whatever — one less thing to worry about,” he said.

For students using the GI Bill, Danko is the first stop. He registers them with the VA and ensures their student accounts are properly coded to prevent late fees while waiting for funding and monitors payments. He maintains the university's accreditation with the VA, ensuring that CMU's degree programs are approved for GI Bill use. 

As co-lead of the Veterans Alliance employee resource group, Danko engages with staff members across campus. He also set up a veterans/ROTC center — a one-stop shop for information about veterans benefits at the local, state and federal levels — in the lobby of the GATF Building at 4615 Forbes Avenue. 

Danko also provides administrative and logistical support to the Steel City Naval ROTC, which is hosted by CMU. 

Established in 1926, the Naval ROTC program produces officers for the Navy and Marine Corps. The Steel City unit consists of about 60 midshipmen from Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University. (Air Force and Army ROTC students attending CMU are affiliated with units hosted at Pitt.)

“Mike was a sergeant major in the Army, so he gets what it’s like to be in uniform,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Mike Tomon, the unit’s commanding officer. “He does an excellent job of bridging the gap between the military and academic worlds. We call him ‘the Mayor’ because he knows all the people who are necessary to make things happen. When we need something, Mike lines it up. He makes my job much easier.”

The ROTC commanding officer and active-duty staff normally rotate every two or three years. That underscores the value of Danko, who’s in his 18th year at CMU.

“He has longevity and institutional knowledge that none of us can match,” Tomon said. “Mike knows the history of the relationship between CMU and the unit better than anyone.”

Danko's military service began in January 1980, rooted in a family tradition that included seven uncles who fought in World War II, a father who was in the Korean War and cousins who fought in Vietnam. Danko was stationed in the United States and Europe and served in operations including Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Enduring Freedom.

The military instilled a commitment to routine and precision that Danko carries into his civilian job. “I try to pay attention to detail as much as possible,” he said. “Doing the big things can be easy; it's the little detail-oriented things that get you.”

That intense focus helps him navigate his job. “I understand the government bureaucracy," Danko said. “I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to get myself into here."

Serendipity played a role in Danko being hired by Carnegie Mellon. He retired from the Army in 2006, uncertain about what the next phase of his life would bring. Danko sent his resume to CMU — not to apply for a specific job, but simply to see where it might lead. 

A couple of weeks later, someone from the Office of Human Resources called Danko to ask if he was interested in becoming the ROTC coordinator. He was hired in a whirlwind. 

“I didn’t even know CMU had a Naval ROTC unit,” Danko said. “I had an interview on Monday. Two days later, they had me signing papers.”

Over nearly two decades at CMU, Danko has helped institutionalize events that honor and connect the military community. Each fall, he organizes a reception for veterans, ROTC students and employees. He supports the Naval ROTC’s annual 9/11 Remembrance Walk and Run, in which participants complete 911 laps around Gesling Stadium’s track to honor the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

Danko also organizes CMU’s annual Veterans Day celebration, including the flag raising and Marine Lt. Col. Christopher “Otis” Raible Run to Remember, a 5K race that honors the CMU alumnus killed in Afghanistan in 2012.

“This year is special because the university just installed a new flagpole on campus,” Danko said. “The midshipmen pointed out last year that the old one was leaning, so they’ll dedicate the new pole as part of Veterans Day. It’s little things like that, but they matter.”

A resident of Latrobe, Danko travels to campus via public transportation, about a one-hour commute each way. He jokes that he traded his Army job for which he got up at 4:30 a.m. every day for a CMU gig that lets him “sleep in” until 5 a.m.

Asked if he ever thought he’d stay this long at CMU, Danko shook his head.

“I didn’t expect to spend 26 years in the Army either,” he said. “It just kept happening. Same thing here — I never really thought about how long I’d be here. But I like the job, I like the people I work with, and I’m not in any hurry to retire.”

These days, the impact of Danko’s work often comes full circle. Students who were undergraduates when he started at CMU are returning to campus as majors and lieutenant colonels. 

“You can’t replace someone like Mike,” Tomon said. “He has the trust of the students, the ROTC staff and the university. He embodies service in every sense of the word.”