A frustrated group of Virginia Military Institute alumni, some of whom have previously spoken out against the institution’s growing embrace of DEI, have taken on a new battle.
The disgruntled alumni have filed a civil rights lawsuit against VMI Alumni Agencies, arguing the relationship between the official alma mater organization and the institute itself is inappropriate, that school leaders have too much control over it.
Read More
A Confederate memorial was removed this week from Arlington National Cemetery and could be relocated to the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park in the Shenandoah Valley if Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin gets his way.
The park is operated by the Virginia Museum of the Civil War, which is run by the Virginia Military Institute, one of the commonwealth’s 15 public universities and the oldest state-supported military college in the U.S.
Read More
Workers set to relocate Confederate Memorial were spotted Sunday in Arlington National Cemetery preparing the 109-year-old statue for removal. Plans were announced in September that the iconic work would be moved to grounds at Virginia Military Institute’s New Market Battlefield State Historical Park.
Read More
The Virginia Military Institute continues to face intense pushback from an alumni group that opposes the military school’s ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The activists in recent months upped their efforts by seeking to redirect the institute’s alumni fundraising in an effort to persuade campus leaders to pull back on critical race theory policies and programs.
Read More
All but one public university in Virginia are taking steps to address students’ tuition burden after a call to action from the governor.
Earlier this year, Glenn Youngkin requested that the commonwealth’s public universities reverse their planned tuition increases, citing inflation.
The University of Virginia (UVA) is the only public university not to announce a plan to reverse its tuition increase. NBC29 reports that UVA students will see a 4.7% tuition and fee increase, raising rates for first-year in-state students to $14,878 and $50,348 for out-of-state students.
Read More
A new report on the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) says the school has refused to change or question traditions and that “racial and gender disparities persist.” Recommendations include a call for accountability from the General Assembly; increasing diversity in leadership and corps; adjusting institutes and traditions; tempering associations between the school, the Civil War, and the Confederacy; addressing racist and sexist speech and actions; improving transparency; celebrating other cultures; and addressing tensions between athletes and non-athletes.
Read More
Governor Ralph Northam signed a ban on executive branch state agencies using single-use plastics. On Tuesday, he announced Executive Order 77 at the Environment Virginia Symposium held at Virginia Military Institute. He also announced the signing of Delegate Betsy Carr’s (D-Richmond) food vendor Styrofoam ban bill.
Read More
Virginia Military Institute began tearing down a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Monday morning after school leadership approved the removal in October.
Virginia Military Institute’s (VMI) Board of Visitors unanimously approved Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson statue’s removal in October after the school was accused of systemic racism and of fostering a hostile environment for black cadets. An Oct. 17 Washington Post report laid out several accusations of racism and insensitivity at VMI.
Read More
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) hired its first Black superintendent shortly after Governor Ralph Northam allotted $1 million to investigate allegations of systemic racism there. VMI announced the appointment of retired U.S. Army Major General Cedric T. Wins on Friday.
Wins will serve as the interim superintendent at VMI – he is also a 1985 graduate. In his remarks on accepting the interim position with VMI, Wins only had positive words for the institution’s history.
Read More
After many conferences and schools decided in late summer to postpone or outright cancel its football seasons because of coronavirus concerns, spring college football will arrive sooner than you think. Recently, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and the Southern Conference (SoCon) released its football schedules for the upcoming season.
The schedules for both conferences have been modified from what a normal season would look like in an attempt to squeeze in enough regular season games and the NCAA Football Championship.
Read More
The Virginia Military Institute’s Board of Visitors has unanimously voted to remove the school’s Stonewall Jackson statue from campus.
The move comes after Kaleb Tucker and other black alumni started a campaign for the statue’s removal, citing racism at the institute experienced by black cadets. The board concurred on forming a diversity office and diversity and inclusion panel, The Washington Post reported.
Read More
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Superintendent, retired four-star Army General J.H. Binford Peay III (’62), resigned on Monday. Peay shared that Governor Ralph Northam prompted the resignation.
“On Friday, 23 October 2020, the Governor’s Chief of Staff conveyed that the Governor and certain legislative leaders had lost confidence in my leadership as Superintendent of Virginia Military Institute and desired my resignation.”
LEXINGTON, Virginia In a talk that was part campaign speech, part motivational lecture, Vice President Mike Pence spoke to over 1,800 people on Thursday at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Pence emphasized the Trump administration’s support of the military and its families. He concluded with a charge to the cadets to lead through integrity.
Read More