After nearly two decades of experience in student engagement, behavioral intervention, and accountability in higher education, Dr. Jamica N. Love has been named the chief diversity officer at VMI.

Just under 350 cadets received degrees in VMI’s first in-person graduation ceremony since December 2019. While graduation on the Parade Ground was common in the 19th century, it was VMI’s first outdoor graduation in many decades.

Under blue skies in Foster Stadium, more than 180 young men and women, most of them VMI cadets, commissioned into the armed services May 15 in the annual ROTC Joint Commissioning Ceremony. The ceremony was also livestreamed for family and friends who could not attend the event in person.

Will Duffy ’22 was weak in the knees in the final days of the academic year. Not because of exams or the multiple parades and trainings that happen, but because of the challenge he signed up for to help others.

In its first two-day, in-person meeting since the pandemic, the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors took action on a number of important items including setting tuition and fees for the 2021-22 academic year, electing new officers, and contextualizing a number of features on post.

Col. Bill Wanovich will retire July 1 after seven years as commandant of cadets. “I’ve really enjoyed working with the cadets,” said Wanovich. “I’ve enjoyed the professionalism I see in them. I feel like I’ve seen continued improvement and continued progress in cadets over the years, which is good.”

The Superintendent regrets to inform the VMI community of the death of Capt. Blair Turner. He passed away on 26 April 2021 at home. He was 73. Blair committed more than 38 years to the Institute until his retirement in November 2020.

Maj. Tim Passmore, assistant professor of international studies at Virginia Military Institute, will discuss how the changing composition of United Nations peacekeeping forces may signal a larger shift on public radio’s With Good Reason April 24-29, in an episode titled “Protecting Human Rights.”

Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins will serve as the Virginia Military Institute’s 15th superintendent according to a unanimous vote today by the Institute’s Board of Visitors. Maj. Gen. Wins, a 1985 graduate of VMI, has served as interim superintendent since Nov. 2020.

The VMI team finished second among nine teams in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Region III Hardware Competition, held as part of IEEE Southeast Con 2021, just behind Clemson University, a school with just over 20,000 undergraduates.