Valerie Stacy ’03, was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the United States military in front of the flag pole located outside of Old Main on Widener's Chester campus. Stacy graduated from Widener University with a degree in nursing and participated in the ROTC program as a student. Upon graduation, she was stationed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, DC, and later at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. 

Stacy was also deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom, and was later deployed to New Orleans, Louisiana to assist with rescue and clean-up efforts after Hurricane Katrina. She is currently stationed in San Antonio, Texas at Fort Sam Houston Army Base with her husband and two children, Lauren and Chase.