By Lane Smith
Two Democratic state lawmakers are proposing bills that are exploring possible changes at Virginia Military Institute, one of which would shift governance away from the institute.
Last month, Del. Dan Helmer proposed House Bill 1377, which will establish an advisory task force to examine whether VMI should continue to be a state-sponsored institution. However, Helmer revised the bill Wednesday, and it passed the House 71-24 Thursday. The legislation now calls for the task force to examine higher education at VMI but does not reference removing the institution’s state sponsorship.
VMI and alumni groups were concerned by the initial bill and called for pushback. However, after the bill was revised, VMI’s superintendent, Lt. Gen. David Furness, said he welcomed the inquiry.
“We’re not doing things that would promote a lost cause or pro-Confederate version of history,” Professor Mark Boonshoft said.
Last month, Del. Michael Feggans submitted House Bill 1374, which remains unchanged. If approved, this bill would dissolve the Board of Visitors at VMI. Governance of the institute would shift to the Board of Visitors at Virginia State University, a historically black university in Chesterfield County.
In response to the two original bills, alumni groups asked alumni, family and friends to share their stories of VMI, avoid reacting with any criticism that could discredit the institute, and seek out opportunities to submit comments to the committees for both bills.
Meade King, a 1985 VMI graduate who is chief operating officer of VMI’s Alumni Agencies’ foundation, said he is happy about the revised version of House Bill 1377.
“We think it’s a good decision and the right decision to take VMI’s viability as a public college off the table, and if the legislature wants to scrutinize us in some way, we welcome it,” King said.
These bills follow a 2021 investigation of VMI regarding diversity, equity and inclusion policies. On June 1, 2021, The Barnes & Thornburg LLP Special Investigations Team released its final report on their investigation into VMI.
In the summary, investigators said VMI had taken steps to become more diverse and inclusive. But they said VMI has a responsibility to prove to Virginia’s taxpayers that it “is implementing its diversity, equity and inclusion proposals.”
On July 1, 2021, VMI responded with a document titled “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Review: 30 Day Report.” Superintendent Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins released his unifying action plan, “One Corps – One VMI,” in the document.
He addressed what the institution was doing to respond to the 42 recommendations from the state for improvement. He said VMI began actions like expanding enrollment of cadets of color, appointing the first female regimental commander and relocating statues among other things.
Wins was named superintendent in April 2021 by a unanimous vote of the VMI Board of Visitors, and his tenure ended on June 30 after the board voted 10-6 on Feb. 28 not to renew his contract.
Before leaving, Wins, the first Black superintendent at VMI, said cadets should have been left out of the political turmoil, referencing a few people who brought on unjust labels to the school.
“It is my firm belief the Corps of Cadets should have remained free from political controversies and negative stereotypes,” Wins said in a statement posted on the website. “Unfortunately, a few individuals’ poor actions led to unfair perceptions of the entire group.”
King said alums have different opinions about Wins.
“As we talk to one another, our biases probably come out, and some people are upset that General Wins, the former superintendent, isn’t here anymore,” King said. “But other people resented that he was here in the first place because, you know, they would have tagged him as a DEI hire.”
King remains in touch with his “Brother Rats,” some of whom have called to ask about the current environment at VMI.
He said that fellow alums seem worn out by the partisan politics of the day that have made their way into board rooms, despite the best efforts of the people on the board.
“I think alumni are feeling like, ‘Oh my gosh, give it a rest,’” King said. “Let us just get to the work of being a military college and instilling honor and discipline, determination and all those kinds of great qualities that we think we do well.”
Last year, two members appointed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, were not confirmed by the General Assembly. Two others resigned and three were rejected by the Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. At the end of the year, there were nine voting members on the board.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, recently appointed new members to the VMI Board of Visitors in January. She appointed Col. Michael Dick, Don Hall, Lester Johnson Jr., former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and Damon Williams.
King said Virginia has increased funding to VMI over the last five fiscal years. The state’s general funding for VMI increased from $19.3 million in fiscal year 2021 to about $34.9 million in the current fiscal year, according to data from VMI’s operating budgets in 2021 and 2026.
In a statement on his legislation before the revision, Helmer said his bill would confirm Virginia taxpayers are not supporting the Confederacy through VMI – and that VMI cadets are treated fairly.
“This bill aims to make sure Virginia taxpayer money isn’t used to support a Lost Cause narrative that glorifies the Confederacy while also protecting VMI cadets from sexual assault and racism,” Helmer wrote.
According to Helmer’s updated bill, the advisory task force would evaluate VMI’s responsiveness to previous suggestions from the 2021 the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia report which assessed VMI student achievement. The task force would investigate other changes VMI should make to distance itself from the “lost cause” narrative and foster an inclusive environment, according to the bill.
Mark Boonshoft, a history professor who arrived at VMI in 2022, said he was opposed to the original version. Following the revisions, Boonshoft said he felt more optimistic about what the bill would do.
“We’re not doing things that would promote a lost cause or pro-Confederate version of history,” Boonshoft said. “And this new text of the bill is less leading in its assumptions about us doing that.”
If the two bills pass both the House and Senate, they would go to Spanberger’s desk.
VMI’s state-sponsorship was first questioned in 1928, according to the Report of the Commission to Survey the Educational System of Virginia – House Document No. 4.
In a voice vote in their meeting on Monday, the House Education Committee’s Higher Education Subcommittee decided not to act on the bill that could dissolve VMI’s Board of Visitors. The committee is set to consider the bill next week.
On Tuesday, Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a post on X that the Trump administration is monitoring the bill regarding VMI’s governance. He vowed his department “reserves the right to take extraordinary measures to protect the integrity of VMI” and said that their commitment to the cadets remains “steadfast.”