Institute Report. August 2009

              Class of 2013 Largest to Enter VMI
By Wendy Lovell
The approximately 490
incoming cadets expected to sign
the matriculation book at VMI on
Aug. 22 will comprise the Institute’s
largest class in its history. More
than half, or 54 percent, hail from
Virginia, with North Carolina and
Pennsylvania next best represented,
respectively. There are 50 women
in the prospective class, as well as
35 transfer students.
According to Col. Vernon Beitzel
’72, director of admissions, the
target for the Class of 2013 is
460 students, and these incoming
cadets were selected from a pool
of 1,723 applicants, the second
largest number of applicants in
VMI’s history.
In addition, nearly 5 percent of incoming cadets are sons and daughters
of alumni, with 17 percent of the class having a connection to an Institute
alumnus.
Beitzel said the new class gives every indication of being well-rounded,
with its members having been involved
in a wide range of extracurricular and
community service activities.
Nearly half of the incoming class,
or 48 percent, attended the Institute’s
Summer Transition Program, or
STP, over the summer. The STP is
a voluntary, four-week program
designed to improve the academic
and physical fitness of incoming
cadets. There is no military training
during the program, but participants
are required to live in Barracks and
eat in the mess hall.
Beginning a t 7:30 a.m. on
Matriculation Day, new cadets will
sign the matriculation book and
have the opportunity to discuss
their chosen courses with academic
advisers and finalize their schedules and accounts. They will receive
room assignments, mailbox numbers, e-mail addresses, and ROTC
information.
Following welcoming remarks at 2:30 p.m. by Gen. Binford J.H. Peay
New cadets form units in preparation for the beginning of their training
as “rats” during Matriculation Day 2008. - VMI File Photo by Kevin
Remington.
Volume XXXVII, Number 1 August 2009
Please see page 2
Alumnus Provides Record $14 Million Bequest
By Scott Belliveau ’83, VMI Foundation
This summer, the VMI Foundation received a bequest of
$14 million from the estate of the late Robert B. Rust Jr.
’34. A resident of Front Royal, Va., Rust died in June. This
gift is the largest single bequest ever realized by the VMI
Foundation and one of the largest gifts by an individual
to VMI.
The entire gift is earmarked solely for the Robert B.
Rust, Jr. ’34 Scholarship. Signed by Rust in 1997, the
scholarship’s memorandum of understanding directs that
it be awarded to cadets who have “good character, have
superior academic potential, and have need for financial
assistance.” There is a preference for Virginia cadets, but
out-of-state cadets are eligible.
A cherished memory inspired Rust to make this gift, said
his niece and the executrix of his estate, Gretchen N. Arnold
of Charlottesville, Va. Between his third- and second-class
years, he received financial support from the James H.
Maxwell Scholarship through the intervention of a professor,
the legendary Robert A. “Buzz” Marr ’19. With the money
from the scholarship – established by Miss Mary E. Maxwell
in 1921 to honor her brother, James, who had died as a cadet
in 1881 – Rust was able to remain in the Corps of Cadets
and complete his degree in civil engineering.
Rust was able to make this exceptional gift because of
six decades of patient and prudent investment in the stock
market. After a few years of working for other companies,
Please see page 4
Robert B. Rust Jr. ’34 as
a 1st Class cadet. - Bomb
photo.
Page 2, The Institute Report, August 2009
Office of Communications and Marketing
Col. Stewart MacInnis – Director
Sherri Tombarge – Editor
Burton Floyd – Publications Coordinator
Contributors:
Wendy Lovell, John Robertson IV, and Kevin Remington.
Printing – McClung Printing,Waynesboro, Va. Eight issues
are printed during the academic year. Inquiries, suggestions,
news items, or address changes should be directed to: Editor,
The Institute Report, VMI Communications and Marketing,
Lexington, Virginia 24450-0304, Telephone 540-464-7207,
Fax 540-464-7443
Institute Report
III ’62, superintendent, the cadets will be formed into companies to march off and begin a
nine-day cadre period. A parent information session will follow, and the day’s activities will
end at 4 p.m.
Parents are welcome to attend the New Cadet Oath ceremony in New Market at 11 a.m. on
Sept. 6. New cadets will take a tour of the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and
recite the Cadet Oath. They will charge across the battlefield in homage to the charge of the
cadets on May 15, 1864, during the Battle of New Market. Following the formal events, the
cadets may picnic with their families and friends.
Class of 2013
Continued from page 1
Two New Members Appointed to Visitors
Gen. John P. Jumper, retired
chief of staff of the Air Force and
resident of Burke, Va., and Kimber
L. Latsha, a founding principal of
Latsha, Davis, Yohe & McKenna
P.C., a law firm headquartered
in Mechanicsburg, Pa., were
appointed to the VMI Board of
Visitors in July by Gov. Timothy M.
Kaine.
Reappointed to the board were
Elizabeth Lee Camp of Richmond
and Marshall Mundy of Roanoke.
Going off the board after eight
years were Bob McDowell and
Bruce Morris.
Jumper, who is currently a
member of the VMI Foundation Board of Trustees, earned a bachelor of
science degree in electrical engineering from VMI in 1966. He retired in
2005 as the 17th chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. He was a fighter pilot,
commanded an F-16 fighter squadron, commanded two fighter wings, and
was commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Allied Air Forces Central
Europe. During his career, he accumulated 5,000 flying hours and more
than 1,400 combat hours. He earned a master of business administration
degree from Golden Gate University.
During his cadetship, Jumper achieved the rank of lieutenant
and participated in activities
including the Newman Club,
intramural basketball, and
the VMI Firefighters. He was a
Distinguished Aerospace Student
and received the Air Force Vice
Commandant’s Award as a 1st
Class cadet.
L a t s h a g r a d u a t e d wi t h
distinction from the Institute.
He ranked second academically,
receiving the second Jackson
Hope Medal, was the president of
the Class of 1977, was a lieutenant
on the 2nd Battalion staff in the
Corps of Cadets, and was co-captain
of the Wrestling Team. He
received his juris doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh School
of Law. He was instrumental in founding and has remained active in the
Central Keystone Chapter of the VMI Alumni Association.
Prior to entering private practice, he served as a prosecutor and as a
special assistant United States attorney while on active duty with the Judge
Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Army, from 1981 to 1984. Following his
tour of active duty, Latsha served for five years in the United States Army
Reserve. He is recognized nationally as one of the leading attorneys in
long-term care law.
TAPS – Ms. Linda Kay Daniels
Ms. Linda Kay Hipes Daniels, an employee of the VMI Laundry since
1998, died July 24, 2009, at Augusta Health in Fishersville. She was 54
years old at the time of her death.
She was a member of the Blue Ridge Moose #2135, the South River
Fire Department, the Fairfield Rescue Squad, and Old Providence ARP
Church.
Ms. Daniels is survived by her husband, Donald M. Daniels Sr., two sons
and daughters-in-law, a step-son, a daughter and son-in-law, a brother and
sister and their families, four grandchildren, and special friend Wanda
Deacon.
A memorial service was held at the South River Fire Department in
Fairfield on Aug. 2, 2009.
Gen. John P. Jumper Kimber L. Latsha
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 3
John C. Allen ’62 Selected
for Distinguished Service Award
By Scott Belliveau ’83, VMI Foundation
	 Walter C. Perrin II ’62,
president of the VMI Foundation,
announced May 1 that this year’s
Distinguished Service Award,
chosen by unanimous vote of
the VMI Foundation’s Board
of Trustees, will honor John C.
Allen ’62. Perrin will present the
Award to Allen at the Founders
Day Convocation on Nov. 11.
The Distinguished Service
Award, the VMI Foundation’s
highest honor, is presented
annually to an alumnus or friend
of VMI who has demonstrated
exemplary dedication to VMI
and commendable dedication
to the mission of the VMI
Foundation.
Allen, who graduated in 1962
with a bachelor of science
degree in biology, comes from a
VMI family; his father, James F.
Allen, who received the award
in 1987, and brother, David G.
Allen, graduated in 1933 and
1971 respectively.
John Allen joined his family’s highway construction firm, J. F. Allen
Co., immediately after graduation, and, for the next five years, he
supervised the company’s projects related to the building of Interstate
81 in Virginia. When he returned to West Virginia in 1967, he became
involved in projects on three Appalachian Corridor highways and two
interstate highways.
Allen became president of the J.F. Allen Co. in 1974, and, for the
next 25 years, he directed the company’s expansion into such activities
as limestone quarrying; the manufacture of ready-mixed concrete,
concrete block, and asphalt paving; site development for schools,
manufacturing plants, and recreation projects; and the reclamation
of abandoned coal mines.
The company, however, never left its roots in construction, engaging
in such projects as road relocation at West Virginia’s Burnsville Lake in
the late 1970s and, in conjunction with a Roanoke, Virginia-based firm,
Wiley N. Jackson Co., the construction of the Stonewall Jackson Dam.
Such was the company’s sustained success that, in 1999, the Engineering
News Record included J. F. Allen Co. in its list of the nation’s top 100
highway contractors.
Together with his wife, Joyce Allen, to whom he has been married
since 1969 and with whom he is
the parent of four children and the
grandparent of 10, John Allen has
been involved in many charitable
activities. For example, in 2000,
the Allens endowed the Sara C. and
James F. Allen Comprehensive Lung
Cancer Program at the Mary Babb
Randolph Cancer Center at West
Virginia University. At Davis & Elkins
College, where Joyce Allen serves as a
member of the Board of Trustees, the
couple helped create the McDonnell
Center for Health, Physical Education
and Athletics, including the Hilda
and Robert R. Butler Lobby, which
is named in honor of Joyce Allen’s
parents.
Their work on behalf of the people
of West Virginia was recognized in
2001 by the West Virginia Association
of Fundraising Professionals, which
honored them as Outstanding West
Virginia Philanthropists.
John Allen’s service to VMI includes
a five-year term as the class agent for
the Class of 1962 from 1992 to 1997
and four years on the VMI Foundation’s Board of Trustees from 1994
to 1998. A donor to the Foundation Fund and the VMI Keydet Club, the
highlights of his philanthropy to VMI are his support of the James F.
Allen ’33 Scholarship, established by the Allen family in 1980 to provide
financial aid to cadets from West Virginia, and his endowment of the
John C. Allen 1962 Distinguished Professorship in Chemistry in 1998.
“We derive great satisfaction in supporting scholarships, teaching, and
research at these [Virginia and West Virginia] institutions,” said John
Allen. The Allens place a high priority on higher education — second
only to their immediate family — because, as Joyce Allen put it, higher
education “is the future of our country.”
When asked about his reaction to the news that the Foundation’s Board
of Trustees had decided to present him with the Distinguished Service
Award, John Allen said, “I was both very surprised and humbled.”
“John’s long-standing and strong commitment to VMI is amply
proved by his years of service as a class agent and Foundation trustee,
his consistent support of faculty and cadets, and his quiet, but always
invaluable advice to the Foundation’s leaders and VMI’s,” said Perrin.
“Anyone who is mindful of John’s service, therefore, knows how richly
he deserves this extraordinary honor.”
John C. and Joyce Allen
Page 4, The Institute Report, August 2009
Continued from page 1
Record Bequest
he eventually joined the Southern Railway – one of the predecessors of the
current Norfolk Southern – and spent the remainder of his professional
working career there.
“His work with the railroad meant that he moved around quite a bit.
Owning shares of companies gave him a sense of being connected,”
recalled Arnold. She also remembers that even in his later years, her uncle
read such business publications as Barron’s every day and that the stock
market was one of his favorite topics of conversation.
Rust left no record of why he decided to direct his gift only to
scholarships. However, Arnold explained, it really came as no surprise to
her:
“He believed in education. Also, he often would relate how the
scholarship he received allowed him to stay at VMI. I think, therefore, he
liked the idea of providing young people with the same opportunity he
enjoyed.”
It is not surprising to note that this exceptional gift will have an
exceptional effect.
“Mr. Rust’s munificence will generate approximately $630,000 in
additional scholarship aid for cadets,” said Brian S. Crockett, chief
executive officer of the VMI Foundation. “As time goes by, of course, this
endowment will produce an increasing amount of financial aid. Indeed,
in the not too distant future, the Rust Scholarship will provide $1 million
in scholarship support to VMI – and give to dozens of young people the
opportunity for a VMI education.”
Rust Scholarships Begins
Supporting Cadets
By Wendy Lovell
The late Robert B. Rust Jr. ’34 made provisions in his will to repay an
old kindness, and his plans will begin to be realized this fall by covering a
deficit in financial aid funding. The first Rust Scholarships will be awarded
for the spring 2010 semester.
“This magnificent gift by the late Robert B. Rust Jr. ’34 will make VMI
affordable for young men and women who may have felt they could not
attend VMI,” said Col. Tim Golden ’71, VMI’s director of financial aid.
“Hopefully, this gift will encourage more applications from students who
may have felt cost prohibited their attending VMI.”
Golden added that the need-based Rust scholarships will help cover
the demonstrated need for those cadets who apply for financial aid with
preference to, but not restricted to, Virginians. While it’s hard to predict
how many cadets will benefit annually, the scholarships could support as
many as 100 cadets. The scholarships will be awarded annually with the
understanding they are for the period of the cadetship.
Current and prospective cadets who wish to apply for Rust Scholarships
will follow the usual process in applying for financial aid. They must
complete the free application for federal aid and the VMI financial aid
application.
The financial aid application process is completed online, and necessary
links may be found on the VMI Financial Aid home page.
SURI 2009
Cadet Roy Hunter ’11 presents research
he did with Cadet Travis Daniel ’11
(seated in foreground) during the
Summer Undergraduate Research
Institute. On the screen is an eight-eyed
wolf spider, one of the subjects of
the project, “Warfare in the Forest: Two
Stories about Invasive Plants, Chemical
Toxins, and Creepy Crawlers.” The
cadets worked with Maj. Anne Alerding,
assistant professor of biology, and gave
one of 21 presentations July 23 in
Preston Library’s Turman Room. – VMI
Photo by Kevin Remington.
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 5
‘Miss Maggie’ Honored in House Naming
By John Robertson IV
Efforts are under way to christen
320 Institute Hill as the Freeland
House, in honor of Miss Margaret
Freeland, the house’s original owner,
who was affectionately known by
the cadets of her day as “Miss
Maggie.”
“We are in the process of
contracting the installation of the
letters over the front door,” said
Lt. Col. Dale Brown, director of
construction, “and Col. [Keith]
Gibson will be helping us improve
the story boards and photos in our
front lobby.”
The house was acquired in 1911
by VMI for faculty housing. It
currently houses the construction
office. Nearly a century after its
acquisition, the renaming will help
to preserve the memory of Miss
Freeland’s contributions to the
Institute.
“Originally known as the Freeland House, cadets often referred to it
as Liberty Hall,” said Col. Keith Gibson, executive director of museum
operations. This is because, as Brown noted, cadets would take the liberty
to get out of Barracks when invited to dine with Miss Freeland.
A photograph, currently hanging in the foyer of the house, shows Miss
Freeland sitting on a couch surrounded by a group of cadets, “to whom,”
as Col. William Badgett ’53 put it, “she dispensed cookies, sage advice,
and maternal affection.
“A plaque identifying Miss Freeland and stating her contribution to the
mental health of a generation or so of cadets is bound to be placed on
some wall in the house,” added Badgett, VMI professor of fine arts and
head of the Memorials Committee.
The process of renaming the house was initiated late in the spring
semester and was officially approved by the Memorials Committee shortly
thereafter.
“They responded quickly, and the vote to approve the proposal was
unanimous,” said Badgett of the committee’s actions.
VMI professor Robert Marr designed the house in 1899 for Miss
Freeland.
A major contribution of Miss Freeland to the Institute was her
determination that the cadets who fell at New Market should have a
memorial.
“Miss Freeland is credited with coming up with the idea of a monument
for the New Market cadets, which of course is the Virginia Mourning Her
Dead statue,” said Gibson.
Miss Freeland remained a part of the VMI community until 1908,
occupying the house until her death.
“When Miss Freeland passed away, some of the cadets got together and
bought her a grave marker,” commented Brown.
Freeland is buried in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery. Her tombstone
reads, in part, “Died in Lexington VA May 13, 1908 where she lived
for 17 years a life of unselfish devotion to the cadets of the Virginia
Military Institute a number of whom have erected this monument to her
memory.”
Miss Freeland poses with a group of cadets and a woman
identified in the VMI Archives as “Miss Poor.” – 1891, VMI Archives.
A sign over the front door will soon acknowledge the renaming of 320
Institute Hill as Freeland House. – VMI Photo by John Robertson IV.
Page 6, The Institute Report, August 2009
Moral Courage Topic of Convocation Speech
By Wendy Lovell
Rushworth Kidder, president and founder of the
Institute for Global Ethics, will deliver the keynote
address at the Virginia Military Institute’s academic
convocation on Sept. 9.
Kidder’s talk, “Moral Courage: the Guts of a
Tough Decision,” will sketch out the characteristics
of morally courageous leaders – a high tolerance
for ambiguity, public exposure, and personal risk
– while emphasizing the role of trust. The event is
free and open to the public, and it will begin at 11:15
a.m. in Cameron Hall.
Kidder, whose weekly columns on social issues
and trends began appearing in The Christian Science
Monitor newspaper in the early 1980s, is the author
of nine books. He founded the Institute for Global
Ethics, a non-partisan, non-sectarian, non-profit
think-tank, in Camden, Maine, in 1990.
His latest book, The Ethics Recession, brings together 30 of his
columns from Ethics Newsline, the Institute’s electronic newsletter that
reports ethics news each week from around the world.
In the book, Kidder argues that what started as an
economic recession has become an ethics recession
– a full-blown collapse of integrity and responsibility
that is now shaping the way Americans need to think
about and respond to this crisis.
A graduate of Amherst College with a doctorate from
Columbia University, Kidder appears monthly as part of
an ethics panel in O: The Oprah Magazine and places
op-ed pieces in such periodicals as the Los Angeles
Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The Boston Globe.
Kidder’s appearance is part of VMI’s Distinguished
Speakers Series, which brings to the Corps of Cadets
key themes and issues of the day. Under the leadership
of Col. Francis Bush, professor of economics and
business, a new Distinguished Speakers Series
Committee will determine the shape the program will
take in coming years, a process that will involve more faculty members
in the selection process of speakers.
Rushworth Kidder
Keydet Club 2009
Fundraising Goals Met
Not realizing what was going to happen to the economy this past year,
the Keydet Club Board of Governors agreed in June 2008 to provide VMI
with $3,550,000 to fund scholarships and operations expenses for its
intercollegiate sports programs in fiscal year 2009, an increase of 4.4
percent over the prior year.
As things got worse, both the Institute and the Keydet Club Board and
staff recognized the challenges ahead. But, as CEO Greg Cavallaro ’84 kept
repeating, “We will get it done. The spirit will bring us through.”
And he was right. The VMI family stepped up to the plate, and the goal
was exceeded. Keydet Club members’ contributions of $3,550,999 were
directed to the Institute in support of Division I teams following the close
of the year.
It just so happened that it was the Keydet Club’s 75th birthday year and,
with backing from Sen. Elmon Gray ’46, Bernard Bossard ’56, Gil Minor
’63, Tom Slater ’66, and one anonymous donor, the Keydet Club’s 75th
Anniversary Challenge was created to help with fundraising. Participants
were asked to make a gift of $75 over and above what they contributed to
the Keydet Club last year. These VMI men agreed to match every participant’s
gift with an additional gift of $75.
The number of Keydet Club donors grew from 2,600 in budget year 2008
to 3,950 last year – a 52-percent increase. And a large part of the growth
in the number of donors was due to the 75th Anniversary Challenge.
More than 3,100 members participated in the challenge, and 1,925
of them were new donors, responsible for more than $344,000 in new
gifts.
Some other statistics: VMI alumni donors to the Keydet Club increased
by 67 percent, or 1,200, and overall alumni donor participation to VMI
through the Keydet Club and the VMI Foundation increased by nearly 12
percent, pushing VMI’s percentage of alumni participation up to 38.8
percent.
The contributions made by Keydet Club donors were allocated as follows:
scholarship grants-in-aid – $2,005,966 and Athletic Operations Fund –
$1,545,033.
Looking ahead, fundraising for Keydet athletics over the next two years
will continue to be challenging.
Cavallaro noted that the Keydet Club has already opted to reduce its
operating budget for 2010 in light of the potential for economic struggles
this year and next. Measures taken include not mailing media guides to
those who can access them online, not holding the annual Scholarship
Athletes Recognition Banquet this year, and not giving pay or cost of living
increases to agency staff.
“We are so appreciative for all the alumni and friends who helped us
reach the funding goals for VMI in FY-09,” Cavallaro said. “I hope every
member in 2009 stays with our team in 2010 and beyond and recruits a
few more Brother Rats and friends to join us.
“We can do all of this and win the VMI way, with honor, integrity,
leadership, broad-based participation and discipline – that’s the spirit of
VMI. That’s what the Institute is all about.”
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 7
ePortfolio Project Creates Buzz on Post
By Wendy Lovell
A new buzzword is being heard around college campuses nationwide,
and the Virginia Military Institute is no exception. That word is “ePortfolio,”
and Col. Mary Ann Dellinger hopes this new tool will become as important
to cadets’ academic network as Facebook is to their social network.
Simply put, an ePortfolio is a multimedia snapshot of a cadet’s educational
experience at VMI. The process of creating an ePortfolio is intended to
help cadets not only collect their work throughout their academic career,
but also to reflect on what they’ve learned and connect with external
audiences.
“Cadets will be able to invite graduate program selection committees,
internship application reviewers, and prospective employers to view
their ePortfolio by simply including the link in their résumé and/or cover
letter,” said Dellinger, director of VMI’s ePortfolio project. “For example,
a pre-professional biologist obviously cannot send in an award-winning
poster presentation to a selection committee, but the members of the
committee could view the poster online in his ePortfolio. Narrated videos
of the trebuchet competition, a photo essay of a Habitat for Humanity Club
project, and a travel blog kept during semester abroad would potentially be
of interest to reviewers of a professional/pre-professional application.”
Dellinger added that a line on a résumé states, “I did this,” whereas
a multimedia presentation of “this” states, “See for yourself what I can
do.”
Members of the Post community were introduced to ePortfolio in
December 2007 when Dr. Gail Ring of Clemson University spoke to the
Academic Board about ePortfolio assessment and the Core Curriculum.
Preliminary planning to bring ePortfolio to VMI followed in fall 2008, and
a pilot program was implemented last spring by faculty and students in
nine cultures courses.
This fall, faculty members who teach a cultures-designated Core
Curriculum course will be required to use ePortfolios, but all faculty will
have access to the project and can use ePortfolios as they pertain to their
curricular and professional development needs.
Dellinger added that new cadets will begin to develop their ePortfolios
this year, and upperclass cadets will be required to publish an ePortfolio
in cultures-designated Core Curriculum classes.
Besides giving cadets a tool to help market themselves in the job market
or in applying for internships or to graduate programs, Dellinger said,
the ePortfolio project will help strengthen the visibility of the Institute’s
academic program and promote collaboration across the disciplines, with
ROTC, career services, and cadet life.
It also will provide students with a way to reflect on what they’re learning
and experiencing during their cadetships.
Cadet Josh Hughes ’10, who participated in the pilot program last spring,
offered the following assessment:
“By setting the learning outcomes from the beginning [of the course], it
created a vision of what each assignment was intended to do and allowed
me to choose my ePortfolio artifacts. Without the direct involvement of
these learning outcomes resting on my shoulders, asking me how each
assignment was going to help me better understand Spanish-speaking
cultures, I do not think this class would have been as successful.”
To help the Post community get up to speed on ePortfolio, Dellinger will
train new cadets during the first academic Saturday in the fall. Workshops
for upper-class cadets will be offered on academic Saturdays throughout
the year and during Dean’s Time in the fall. Dellinger and Col. Christina
McDonald also will offer workshops for faculty, and open meetings at mid-semester
and at the end of fall term will be held to assess the program’s
success on Post.
Once cadets and faculty members have developed their ePortfolios,
they can share them with colleagues, potential employers and scholarship
committees, the VMI Board of Visitors, accrediting agencies, and peer
institutions. They also can provide a glimpse at cadet life for parents,
friends, and mentors.
“The principal benefits of the ePortfolio Project are ownership and
accountability,” said Dellinger. “Our model is a reflective ePortfolio.
Through ‘collect, reflect, and connect,’ cadets assume ownership of their
learning and answer their own perennial question, ‘So what?’”
VMI Summer Theatre
Cadets Shayn P. Tierney ’11 as Christopher Wren and
Domonique R. Baker ’09 as Mollie Ralston rehearse
on the stage of Gillis Theater for the VMI Summer
Theatre production of Agatha Christie’s classic
murder-mystery, “The Mousetrap.” This play, along
with “The Importance of Being Earnest” in June,
continued the tradition of summer productions in
the VMI Theatre’s new home in Marshall Hall. – VMI
Photo by Kevin Remington.
Page 8, The Institute Report, August 2009
Gender Diversity Effort Wins Gold
By Sherri Tombarge
In 2004 VMI began a many-pronged initiative to improve recruitment
and retention of female cadets.
That effort brought results, raising the number of applications from
women from 87 in 2003 to 169 in 2008 and increasing inquiries from
women 110 percent in that time.
That effort also brought VMI a national grand gold medal from the
Council for Advancement and Support of Education in the diversity
programs category this
year. VMI’s entry, a
summary of the entire
program and recruiting
ma t e r i a l s t a r g e t e d
specifically to women, was
displayed during the CASE
Summit for Advancement
Leaders in July and will be
posted online as a model
program accessible to
CASE members.
A CASE representative
noted the supporting
statistics and the low cost
of VMI’s program, which
was from the start an in-house
operation.
The program began
with the hiring in 2004
of a female admissions
counselor dedicated
specifically to the recruitment of women. The superintendent’s
recruitment and retention conference in 2006 gave members of the
VMI staff the opportunity to hear from women who had experienced
VMI – alumnae and current cadets.
“That was an eye-opener,” said Maj. Amy Goetz, assistant director
of marketing in VMI’s office of communications and marketing.
Goetz served as the moderator of the female focus group during the
conference. It helped her get a handle on where VMI could improve
its strategy.
“We might be recruiting women,” said Goetz, “but we weren’t
retaining them, so what were we missing in our communication?”
Meanwhile, focus groups held by the communications and marketing
office helped create the opportunity for a targeted marketing program,
and a formal initiative endorsed by the superintendent, Gen. J.H. Binford
Peay III ’62, and VMI’s Board of Visitors put some muscle behind it in
the form of broad support from all VMI offices involved with recruitment
of cadets and their experience in the Corps.
Goetz and her partner in the communications and marketing office,
Maj. Kate Crossman, Web communications designer and editor, went
to work to create the first recruiting materials targeted to women who
would most likely “thrive” at VMI.
“One of the only consistencies that we found is that they are
independent people,” said Goetz.
The admissions brochure developed by the Goetz-Crossman team
offers prospective female cadets the opportunity to define themselves
instead of being defined by others and emphasizes the wide range
of activities – military,
athletic, academic – in
which cadets must take
part.
The brochure matches
photos of female cadets
leading rope-climbing
training, working in the
chemistry lab, and on
parade with key words and
their definitions – courage,
strength, intellect, and
purpose – and quotes from
female cadets.
The brochure has a
special message for women
who are considering
matriculating at VMI:
“VMI encourages women
to explore facets of their
character they might
not otherwise explore at
another college,” said Crossman.
“It’s about achievement. It’s about coming out on top in character
and strength. They’re pursuing courage and intellect,” added Goetz.
Other marketing materials were e-mail messages inviting prospective
female cadets to visit VMI and a mall kiosk advertisement targeted at
women as part of a larger campaign.
Part of the initiative is to portray what Crossman called “an honest
look” at the VMI experience for women, and part of it is to nurture
women through the admissions process.
Breakout sessions during admissions open house events offer women
the opportunity to talk to female cadets, and they sleep in Barracks with
the cadets.
The cooperative nature of the effort extended from the Goetz-Crossman
design team to Col. Stewart MacInnis, director of communications and
marketing; Col. Vern Beitzel, director of admissions; Col. Thomas
Trumps, commandant of cadets; then-chief of staff Col. Walt Chalkley;
and the superintendent.
“This award is confirmation of VMI’s efforts to encourage more
women to matriculate and graduate from VMI,” concluded Goetz.
Maj. Amy Goetz (left) and Maj. Kate Crossman collaborated to create recruiting
materials targeted at women. – VMI Photo by Kevin Remington.
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 9
VMI Rounds Out Leadership Center Staff
Retired Navy Capt. Susan J. Rabern was named deputy
director of VMI’s Center for Leadership and Ethics in
July. Also joining the Center’s staff over the summer were
Maj. Amy K. DeHart, assistant director for conferences,
programs and marketing, June 1, and Derek J. Pinkham,
assistant conference coordinator, July 1.
“We’ve assembled a gifted, experienced, and highly
cohesive team for the Center,” Brig. Gen. Charles F.
Brower IV, director of the center, said. “We had over 300
applications for the positions, and we were gratified by
the interesting and talented pool of applicants this exciting
new VMI venture attracted. “
Rabern will be broadly involved in the development
and implementation of the Center’s programs and
operations. She will also serve as the Center’s budget and
finance officer and take the lead in designing, planning and implementing
the inaugural VMI Leadership Conference scheduled for September
2010.
Rabern has worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Customs
Service, and Agency for International Development and, from 2003 to
2007, for VMI, as special assistant to the superintendent. She comes to
the Institute from her current position as the deputy director, Office of
Military Affairs, U.S. Agency for International Development.
Rabern graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor of arts
degree in biology and has earned master’s degrees in education from
Boston University, business administration from San Diego State University,
and strategic studies from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Her
doctorate in ethics and entrepreneurship from the Darden School of the
University of Virginia will be awarded this fall.
DeHart is responsible for the administration, planning,
budgeting, scheduling and operational requirements of the
conferences and other special events held at the Center.
She will also develop and administer communications
and marketing plans.
DeHart has served on the campaign staffs of
congressional, vice presidential and presidential
campaigns and was a senior public relations account
executive for Kearns and West Inc. in San Francisco
and Lexington. Long associated with the VMI Research
Labs’ Conference Office, DeHart has since 1999 played
managerial roles in VMI conferences and symposia. She is
a graduate of Earlham (Indiana) College with a bachelor
of arts degree in German literature.
Pinkham will assist with conference design and
planning and administer conference, symposia, and meeting support
requirements.
Pinkham comes to the Center from Washington and Lee University,
where he worked as an administrative assistant in the Shepherd Poverty
Program and the Department of Computer Science. He graduated from
Bennington College with a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry and a minor
in music.
Also on staff are Sara M. Turner, administrative assistant, and Justin
Spears, technologist/assistant facility manager.
Turner is a native of Lexington and will complete her associate’s degree
in business management from Blue Ridge Community College this academic
year.
Turner is a longtime resident of Rockbridge County and veteran of many
VMIRL conferences.
Capt. Susan J. Rabern
Alumni Participation in Giving Increases in 2009
By Scott Belliveau ’83, VMI Foundation
The number of alumni who made a gift to VMI increased 11.7 percent
in budget year 2009. Last year, 4,524 alumni made a gift to VMI; this
year, that number grew to 5,052.
The increase also translated into a rise in the percentage of alumni
who supported. Last year’s 4,524 alumni donors represented 35 percent
of all alumni; the 5,052 alumni donors in 2009 represented 39 percent
of all alumni.
Undoubtedly, much of this increase can be credited to the success
of the VMI Keydet Club’s 75th Anniversary Challenge, in which alumni
and friends were asked to donate $75 in support of VMI athletics in
honor of the 75th anniversary of the Keydet Club’s founding. The Keydet
Club enjoyed a 67 percent increase in alumni donors to the club, from
1,816 to 3,032.
All told, 3,135 people made a gift to the Keydet Club Scholarship
Fund or the Athletic Operations Fund in budget year 2009. Of these
participants, 1,925 were new donors, and they accounted for more
than $344,000 of new gifts.
“In light of the news stories of declining charitable giving and
considering the continued economic uncertainty, these figures are great
news,” said Greg Cavallaro ’84, chief executive officer of the VMI Keydet
Club. “Increased participation means more money for VMI at a time
of tightening higher-education spending in Virginia. Just as important,
it indicates that VMI alumni are willing to help the Institute meet its
ongoing financial challenges.”
“Last year, VMI Annual Giving’s theme was ‘VMI Alumni Don’t Do
Ordinary,’” observed Brian Crockett, chief executive officer of the VMI
Foundation. “As this boost in alumni participation demonstrates, VMI
alumni took that message to heart.
“This response by our alumni to appeals for support from VMI
certainly will inspire the officers, staffs, and volunteers of the VMI
Foundation and the VMI Keydet Club to engage VMI alumni even more
actively in budget year 2010 and to continue the overall upward trend
in alumni participation that VMI has enjoyed in the past few years,” he
concluded.
Page 10, The Institute Report, August 2009
VMI Foundation Enjoys Success in 2009
By Scott Belliveau ’83, VMI Foundation
Fiscal year 2009, which ran from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, was
one in which the VMI Foundation enjoyed outstanding success on behalf of
VMI. Donors gave gifts and made commitments totaling $31,692,394.
Among the highlights were:
• An increase of more than $8 million over last year’s grand total of
$23.6 million,
• $18.6 million in cash, including $15.3 million to restricted funds and
endowments,
• $2.44 million to the Foundation Fund, which provides unrestricted
money for VMI’s academic and co-curricular programs and, thus, the fifth
consecutive year in which the Foundation Fund has received more than $2
million,
• $13 million in pledges and other commitments, more than $4.7
million of which went to restricted funds and endowments and more than
$411,000 which went to the Foundation Fund,
• Total planned-giving commitments of $7.89 million, and
• Three successful Reunion Fund drives from the classes of 1959, 1983,
and 1998 that raised $7 million, $4 million, and $368,000 respectively in
gifts and commitments.
Brian S. Crockett, chief executive officer of the VMI Foundation,
described the overall effect of this accomplishment:
“This success in fundraising in fiscal year 2009 will mean additional
money needed to improve the academic and co-curricular programs of
VMI’s extraordinary education, support the faculty and staff who teach
and mentor our cadets, and provide cadets with increased scholarship
opportunities.
“I thank all of the people involved in this success – VMI’s leaders, faculty,
and staff who keep VMI moving forward; the thousands of donors, alumni
and non-alumni, whose generosity helps VMI and its cadets now and in
the future; and the hard-working dedicated staff of the VMI Foundation,”
continued Crockett.
He promised a sustained effort to raise money from the VMI
Foundation.
“As heartening as this news is for the entire VMI family, all fiscal and
financial trends indicate that private money will become even more
important to VMI. So, led by our president, Walter B. Perrin II ’62,
supported by our trustees and volunteers, and inspired by our selfless
donors, the officers and staff of the VMI Foundation will be working
even harder in this new fiscal year in support of a great American
institution.”
Keydet Club Resets Board
The Keydet Club Board of Governors welcomed a new
president and six new members July 1. Charles F. Plageman
’90 took over as president from William H. Stephens Jr. ’73
after serving as the first vice president of the Board the past
two years.
The other officers of the Board for 2009-2011 are U.
“Buzz” Birzenieks ’64, first vice president; Joseph W. Keyes
Jr. ’82, second vice president; and Gerald J. Acuff Jr. ’74,
secretary and treasurer.
Joining the officers on the Executive Committee will be Board
members Kelly K. Sullivan ’01, and Bland Massie Jr. ’77.
New Board members, as of July 1, are Thomas A. Brashears
’95, Kevin J. Henry ’68, James W. Long Jr. ’69, Andrew J.
Mulcunry ’94, Lewis E. Preston ’92, and Daniel P. Thornton
’78.
Returning Board members serving second three-year terms
are Gerald J. Acuff Jr. ’74, Michael C. Eden ’82, Lois W. Ford,
and Thomas C. Jones ’69.
Charles F.
Plageman ’90
Hoping for More Blisters and Sore Feet
On Watch and on Ready, Cadet EMTs Oversee Safety on the Rat Line
By Wendy Lovell
Cadet Logan Barnhill will take part in the rigors of Hell Week
this month but not as a rat. He’s leading 25 other cadets who are
certified emergency medical technicians on the frontline of the action,
making sure that the new cadets are taken care of physically and
emotionally.
“They are my eyes in the field and often the first ones to identify cadets
in need of help,” said Dr. David Copeland, Institute physician. “They
provide basic first aid and often help enough that the cadet does not need
to come to the infirmary. They can patch up a rat in the field so he does
not have to miss any training, and they have the respect of the Cadre, so
an EMT can pull a rat out of a training program and the Cadre respects
his decision.”
Barnhill became a certified EMT during his 4th Class year and has
returned to Post to assist with Hell Week for the past two years. Not only
will he serve as an EMT this year but as cadet in charge, coordinating the
volunteer schedule and making sure supplies have been ordered and that
EMTs are prepared for their duties.
“Last year, we only had 12 EMTs, and Hell Week was grueling for us,”
said Barnhill. “With 26 EMTs this year, we’ll be able to have more than
one assigned to each company, and we can work in shifts instead of the
24/7 coverage we all had to take on last year.”
To prepare for the incoming cadets, Barnhill and his fellow EMTs met
Please see page 14
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 11
Leadership Center Host for Citizen-Soldier Conference
By Wendy Lovell
History professor Col. Kip Muir (right) works with Brig. Gen. Charles
Brower and Maj. Amy Dehart to organize the Citizen-Soldier
Conference. - VMI Photo by Wendy Lovell.
Marshall, Energy Conferences in October
In October, the Center for Leadership and Ethics will be host for two
events that will bring visitors to Post to expand the debate on energy in
Virginia and to remember the legacy of Institute alumnus
General of the Army George C. Marshall 1901.
The fourth annual Commonwealth of Virginia Energy
Symposium, Oct. 7-8, will bring more than 400 public and
private sector energy professionals to Post to share energy
information and technologies and to build new and enhance
existing partnerships. The overall goal of the symposium is to
help Virginia businesses, government, and citizens anticipate
energy challenges and opportunities in order to make wise
decisions for a sustainable and prosperous future.
The George C. Marshall Foundation and VMI will be hosts
for a symposium entitled “George C. Marshall: Servant of
the American Nation” Oct 23-24. Historians, biographers,
social scientists, and engaged citizens will gather in Marshall Hall, home
of VMI’s new Center for Leadership and Ethics, to provide insight and
perspective into the exceptional life of a most distinguished American
soldier-statesman.
The symposium is composed of three plenary sessions
organized around the major roles assumed by Marshall
over five decades – soldier, statesman and peacemaker, and
leader and manager – and will include two major keynote
addresses by Marshall biographers Josiah Bunting and Mark
Stoler.
The symposium’s program will include commentaries
on Marshall during the formative World War I and interwar
periods, his “Organizer of Victory” and grand strategist roles
in World War II, the European Recovery Plan, the evolution
of Korean policy and the relief of MacArthur, the recognition
of Palestine, and, of course, the grand historical shadow cast
by his character and leadership.
For more information, contact the Center for Leadership and Ethics at
464-7361.
More than 150 policy makers, academics, and military practitioners
are expected to converge on VMI’s Center for Leadership and Ethics in
September to learn more about the role the National Guard and Reserve
components of the Armed Forces play in the defense of the United States
at home. They also will review the progress that has been made in this
decade and identify improvements needed in our responses to natural
and manmade disasters.
“The U.S. Citizen-Soldier, Protector of the Homeland: A Retrospective
Look and the Road Ahead” will take place Sept. 18-19 and will address
issues such as the preparedness of the nation’s Reserve and National Guard
forces to respond to a terrorist attack on America’s cities and confront
major natural disasters, the role of the citizen-soldiers in helping rebuild
stricken communities, and connections between these forces and civilian
agencies such as FEMA.
“The concept of the citizen-soldier is of special importance to the
Virginia Military Institute with its mission of producing men and women
‘ready as citizen-soldiers to defend their country in time of national peril,’”
said Col. Malcolm Muir Jr., professor of history and director of the John
A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis at VMI.
Muir developed the conference program and recruited many of the
panelists for the upcoming conference. It follows one sponsored two
years ago at the First Division Museum by VMI’s Adams Center, the Robert
R. McCormick Foundation, and the First Division Museum, Cantigny, on
the topic of the citizen-soldier at war.
“As the number and types of missions for our Armed Forces continue to
grow in scale and complexity, this symposium will provide an opportunity
for careful and penetrating reflection on a vitally important topic,” said
conference chairman Brig. Gen. Charles F. Brower IV, director of VMI’s
new Center for Leadership and Ethics. “Lives lost through human and man-made
crises will have been lost in vain if the military and municipalities
don’t absorb and adapt from lessons learned and effectively plan
accordingly.”
The conference program features distinguished speakers from the
uniformed military, civilian policymaking, and academic spheres, including
Lt. Gen. Steven H. Blum, deputy combatant commander, U.S. Northern
Command; retired Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, commander of Joint Task
Force Katrina; and Maj. Gen. Arnold L. Punaro, chairman, Commission
on the National Guard and Reserves (2006-2008).
Brower added that conferences like this one and upcoming events
including the Virginia Energy Symposium and the symposium on George
C. Marshall in October underline the Institute’s focus on the education
of leaders of character who are prepared to serve as citizen-soldiers.
Planning, coordinating, and serving as host for such events, for both
internal and external audiences, is a primary function of the new
center.
“Conferences and symposia relating to leader development, public
policy leadership, and national service and available to the Corps will be
a salient component of the Center’s programs,” said Brower. “They’ll also
further establish the national reputation of VMI’s leadership and character
development programs.”
“One of the functions of the Center for Leadership and Ethics,” he added,
“is to bring conferences of national importance like this one to public
policy leadership and to help shape the debate and provide solutions for
such issues of importance.”
Page 12, The Institute Report, August 2009
Research Labs Facilitates Sponsored Research
By Sherri Tombarge
With the opening of the VMI Center for Leadership and Ethics conference
management office, responsibility for organizing conferences has shifted
to the Center from the VMI Research Laboratories – VMIRL – a nonprofit,
independent organization whose primary focus has been to support
sponsored research by faculty and cadets.
Organizing conferences had been a second focus for VMIRL ever since
the founding of the Environment Virginia symposium in 1990 by Ron Erchul,
professor emeritus, then a professor of civil engineering.
Sponsored research, the organization’s primary focus, includes research
funded both by grants and by contracts with businesses. Both come with
requirements that can be cumbersome. It’s the Research Labs’ primary
focus to ease that burden on faculty.
“We administer grants,” said Col. Dick Rowe, professor of biology
and VMIRL director of research. “It’s really just freeing up the faculty
from as many of the details as possible and allowing them to pursue
research.”
“While VMI does not aspire to be a research university, we believe
strongly that research, or scholarly engagement, enables great teaching,”
said Col. Rob McDonald, associate dean of faculty. “Our faculty are able
to compete for external grants and pursue innovative research programs –
often involving cadets – that support a commitment to teaching excellence
thanks to the administrative support provided by VMIRL.”
When a faculty member wishes to apply for a grant, an employee of VMI,
most recently Cmdr. Mike Sebastino, formerly grants, contracts and IP
officer, now assistant dean, helps oversee the application process. Once
the grant is acquired, help is offered by VMIRL.
“Having the structure of a private, not-for-profit organization can
streamline all aspects of obtaining and managing funded research,” said
Col. Joe Blandino, professor of mechanical engineering, who has worked
with VMIRL on grant- and contract-sponsored research. “These individuals
[at VMIRL] have been great at keeping on top of the paperwork, which is
definitely not one of my strengths.”
“The critical piece,” said Rowe, “is that the money comes to VMIRL
and all the faculty member has to do is send VMIRL the bill. The faculty
member is allowed to spend the money as the grant allows.”
That might mean buying precisely the equipment desired without having
to undergo the bidding process that a state agency such as VMI would be
required to pursue.
“From my experience,” said Col. Henry Schreiber, professor of chemistry,
“equipment that might take several months to get through state purchases
can be done in a small fraction of the time through VMIRL. Many contracts
have a due date for completion, so that it is in everyone’s best interest to
get the needed equipment as quickly as possible.
“It’s easier to get what you want,” he added, “which is not to say the
most expensive one, but the best one for the research tasks without the
paperwork to justify such.”
The Research Labs’ assistance simplifies every aspect of working under
a grant.
“Only a minimum of forms and approvals are required for travel,
payroll, and purchases,” said Schreiber. “It makes things a lot more
streamlined.”
When grant overhead or conferences yield excess funds, VMIRL has
funneled that money back to VMI research programs in grants of its own,
funding, for example, one student in the Summer Undergraduate Research
Institute, the publication of the New Horizons research journal, and the
Maury and Hinman research awards. Cadets are also involved in research
through employment as summer assistants to faculty pursuing sponsored
research.
Scheiber describes how it works: “Cadets see how chemistry is used to
solve real problems, whether such problems are defined by government
agencies – for example NASA or the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah
River National Laboratory – or industries – for example PPG, DuPont and
GTS-Duratek. Such research furthermore piques their interest in science,
spurring them to realize their need for coursework to understand fully the
required concepts.”
With conference funds to VMIRL expected to diminish in coming years
as the Leadership Center takes over that responsibility, fewer funds may
be available for VMIRL grants.
“It’s hard to know what will happen,” said Rowe. “We’re going to be
leaner.” But VMIRL will continue to “bend over backwards,” he said, to
assist faculty with sponsored research.
“What I appreciate most about the VMIRL staff is that they appreciate the
faculty’s efforts to obtain outside funding,” said Blandino. “It doesn’t matter
if it is a $5,000 or a $300,000 grant. They put forward a first-class effort
and have a positive attitude that recognizes that every grant is important
to the faculty and VMI.”
New Members Join VMI Faculty
Orientation for new faculty was held Aug. 12. Among those joining
the VMI faculty are the following:
Dr. Aida Adib Bamia, visiting professor, and Dr. Abdajalil Naoui-Khir,
associate professor, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures;
Dr. Dimplekumar Chalishajar, adjunct instructor, mathematics; Maj.
Pieter DeHart, assistant professor, biology; Jeremy Griffin and E. Leigh
McKagen, adjunct instructors, English and fine arts; Maj. Ryan Holston,
assistant professor, international studies; Maj. Wakeel Idewu and Maj.
David Johnstone, assistant professors, civil engineering; and Col. Joseph
Scarpaci, professor, economics and business.
New to VMI’s ROTC departments are Maj. Colin Turnnidge, Army;
and Cmdr. Jon Baca, 1st Lt. Russell Keene and Lt. Jeff Lambeth,
Naval.
Also new to VMI is Maj. Simone McKelvey, coordinator for academic
advising and learning specialist, and Daniel Verpaele, football. Maj.
Michael Brickler will be in media services at Preston Library.
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 13
Renovated Barracks Greet Returning Corps
By John Robertson IV
Most cadets arriving on Post for fall semester will find their quarters
greatly improved. The completed renovation of New Barracks and ongoing
construction on Old Barracks, in addition to the recent addition of Third
Barracks, will give almost all cadets updated living spaces.
Lt. Col. Dale Brown, director of construction, said the renovations would
constitute a “significant improvement to cadets’ quality of life.”
“In addition, the improvements to the common areas like the Barracks
study room,” continued Brown, “the relocation of the mail room, the
relocation of the barber shop, etc., will provide improved services, all
within Barracks.”
Improvements to the New Barracks include renovation of cadet rooms,
new bathrooms and showers, and replacement of the parapet on the
backside of the barracks. Work completed on Old Barracks includes
renovation of bathrooms and replacement of the roof, but work will
continue into the semester with renovation of some Old Barracks cadet
rooms.
Brown noted that the renovation of the rooms “will not provide any
additional amenities,” but cadets will find that an updated heating system,
improved lighting, fresh paint, refurbished flooring, and new fire sprinklers
have gone a long way to improve their housing situation.
In Old and New Barracks, the new hot water heating system, which uses
vertical fan coils, will allow cadets to more easily control the temperature
in their rooms.
Brown noted that the construction around Old Barracks will cause some
inconvenience for cadets.
“The continued work in Old Barracks through the 2009-10 academic
year, while significantly reduced, will continue to mean limited access to
certain areas within Old Barracks,” said Brown. “In addition, there will
be added travel distance and time for cadets in rooms where stoops are
blocked off from the Old Barracks Courtyard.”
Cadets’ rooms are not the only quarters seeing renovation. Construction
on the Commandant’s Quarters is also progressing apace. The renovation
of the Commandant’s Quarters will include the replacement of the back
porch as a family room and construction of a new front porch.
“Historically there was a front porch on the house,” said Brown, “and
the new porch is intended to restore the historical appearance of the
house.”
Other improvements to the Commandant’s Quarters include upgrades to
the mechanical and electrical systems within the house and replacement
of the roof.
Construction on North Post, including the $15.1 million Military and
Leadership Field Training Grounds, will begin in coming weeks.
Renovation and construction in Old Barracks began graduation day and continued throughout the summer. – VMI Photo by Kevin Remington.
Please see page 19
Page 14, The Institute Report, August 2009
with Copeland prior to matriculation to get an update on health issues that
might be of special concern. This year’s briefing included information on
the H1N1, or “swine,” flu virus.
An unofficial part of their training is the memory they have of going
through the Rat Line themselves.
While Barnhill didn’t find the Rat Line to be too overwhelming as a
4th, he remembers appreciating the support EMTs showed him and his
Brother Rats. Serving as the EMT cadet in charge has provided him with
an opportunity to give back to the Institute.
“Our job is to support the Rats and the Cadre,” said Barnhill. “We make
sure they’re drinking plenty of water and wearing sunscreen, and we look
for signs of mental fatigue. If we do our jobs right, the majority of problems
we’ll have to deal with are blisters and sore feet.”
Barnhill added that while he’s seen more physical problems as a
volunteer for the local rescue squad, he has dealt with cadets who weren’t
mentally prepared for the Rat Line and Hell Week.
“Some people have a harder time than others, and it’s up to us to look
for signs of trouble,” he said. “Most of the time we have to approach cadets
who look like they need help because they don’t want to show signs of
weakness. It’s really culture shock for some and our job to make sure they
stay safe.”
Following Hell Week, the EMTs will be assigned to be on hand at various
4th Class activities such as marches, sweat parties, Break Out and new
cadet military training. Other duties include being on call for club sporting
events and weekend Barracks duty.
Like Barnhill, several other EMTs serve as volunteers for the local rescue
squad and the Lexington fire station. They typically volunteer for a weekly
shift from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Barnhill said the experience is ideal for cadets
who are interested in a career in the medical field, but rewarding for EMTs
of all backgrounds.
While he is not interested in practicing medicine – Barnhill is an
international studies and Arabic major – the experience has narrowed
his field of interest for his upcoming U.S. Army commitment to a job as a
medivac helicopter pilot.
“I really fell in love with being an EMT, and I hope to keep doing it after
graduation,” he said.
Blisters and Sore Feet
Continued from page 10
Class of 1959 Fund Surpasses $7 Million
Patrick F. Webb, vice president of alumni and reunion
giving, announced July 31 the final tally for the Class of
1959’s 50th Reunion Fund: a grand total of $7,062,539
in gifts and commitments.
This gift includes approximately $5.5 million in
commitments and $1.5 million in immediate gifts. Along
with raising this impressive amount of money, the Class
of 1959 also enjoyed excellent participation, with 84.52
percent of Brother Rats making a gift or commitment.
At an on-Post planning meeting in early 2008, the
Reunion Fund Committee of 21 members led by Robert
J. “Bobby” Ross set ambitious goals of $5.9 million in
gifts and commitments and 100 percent participation.
In support of these goals, the Class of 1959 came
together as if fulfilling a sentiment expressed in its edition of The Bomb,
“The alumni of VMI have good reason … to back her loyally as they watch
her growth, knowing that she will continue to make notable contributions
to a free society.”
A prominent part of the effort was the Class of 1959 Stonewall Fund,
conceived as a means for the class to support the academic, co-curricular,
and athletic components of the VMI education. According to Philip G.
“Shep” Shepard, class agent, the name stems from the formidable offensive
line of VMI’s undefeated 1957 football team which included Brother Rats
William N. “Nick” Ruffin, Jerry Borst, and James McFalls.
Forty percent of the money donated to the Stonewall Fund will support the
Class of 1959 Football Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to the
football team’s starting quarterback. This particular use
harkens not only to the class’s offensive linemen but also
to the success of VMI football during the Class of 1959’s
years in Barracks, to include three winning seasons and
two Southern Conference championships.
Another 40 percent of the Stonewall Fund will establish
an endowment to support the Institute’s academic and
co-curricular programs. With its final 20 percent, the
Stonewall Fund will endow the Class of 1959 Dean’s
Discretionary Fund, funds from which will be used
by the Dean of the Faculty to advance VMI’s academic
programs.
At the bottom line of any gift to VMI, however, are its
benefits for VMI.
“We are sincerely grateful for such a generous and unrestricted
contribution to VMI academics,” said Brig. Gen. R. Wane Schneiter, deputy
superintendent for academics and dean of the faculty, of the establishment
of the Dean’s Discretionary Fund. “The Class of 1959’s gift will significantly
enhance our ability to teach and mentor cadets and offer developmental
opportunities for faculty.”
“The Class of 1959 deserves the gratitude of the entire VMI family for
their generosity to the Institute at this critical time in its history,” said Brian
S. Crockett, chief executive officer of the VMI Foundation. “Their vision
and foresight, as demonstrated by the establishment of the Class of 1959
Stonewall Fund, will benefit the Institute well into the future and serves as
a marvelous example of commitment for all alumni and friends of VMI.”
Photo courtesy VMI Archives
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 15
Red Areas/Red Numbers – Cadet Parking (125 spaces) Yellow Areas – Faculty/Staff/Visitor Parking
Please see page 18
Cadet Parking Plan a Cooperative Effort
By John Robertson IV
A plan developed by the Fall 2009 Cadet Parking Committee will
accommodate cadet vehicles during construction on North Post this
year.
The committee, working since early July, has reserved 125 on-post
parking spaces for the use of 1st Class cadet vehicles and has provided
for remote parking for the remainder of authorized cadet vehicles.
“Daily parking demands from faculty, staff and visitors will not be
impacted, as the cadet vehicles will utilize parking lots on Post with excess
capacity,” said Lt. Col. Dallas Clark ’99, Institute planning officer.
On-post parking for cadet vehicles will consist of 50 spaces in the
Marshall Hall parking lot, 20 spaces in the Gray Minor Stadium lot, and
55 spaces in two Main Street gravel parking lots. Remote parking will
be assigned in the parking lot of the former Kmart.
First Class cadets Even Rogers, S-7 captain, Sloan Burns, 1st Class
president, and Barker Squire, regimental executive officer, have had a
significant role in shaping the plan.
Rogers and Burns, when presented with the original parking plan which
offered no provision for cadet parking, proposed the idea of setting aside
125 spaces in order that one vehicle from each 1st Class room would have
a parking space on Post.
“Cadets Rogers and Burns responded to the dilemma perfectly,” said
Squire. “Working with representatives from the physical plant and the
athletic department, they were able to claim 125 parking spaces within
walking distance of Barracks.”
“We wanted to make sure the best interest of the cadets was represented,”
said Rogers. “The plan is a great compromise between the needs of cadets
and the desires of the administration and their vision for the future.”
Implementation and enforcement of the plan will be handled by
cadets.
“The cadets ultimately will be key to the success of the plan,” Clark said.
“Parking as agreed upon will ensure that the privilege of having vehicles
parked on Post is realized. Further enforcement through the class system
will be required to ensure that only authorized cadets have vehicles.”
Remote parking lots will be used to park the approximately 150 remaining
authorized cadet vehicles. First Class cadets not granted a parking space on
post will park in the remote lots as will cadets given special authorization,
such as reservists who require their own transportation to attend training
off post.
Page 16, The Institute Report, August 2009
Post Briefs
Spanish Professor Chairs Conference
Spanish professor Col. Mary Ann Dellinger co-chaired the fifth
international conference of the Asociación Hispánica de Humanidades in
Seville, Spain, June 24-27, and VMI was noted in the program as a sponsor.
Taking the theme “El Español: Integrador de Culturas,” the conference
was attended by 180 professors, independent scholars, writers, poets, and
graduate students from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and
Europe. VMI’s Office of Communications and Marketing printed programs
and poster boards for the conference. Chair of the organizing committee
was Ellen Mayock, W&L professor of Romance languages. Dellinger’s
attendance and two exploratory trips were made possible by Jackson-Hope
funds.
Professor Speaks At Security Conference
Col. Richard J. Kilroy, Jr. gave a presentation, “Toward a New Trilateral
Security Relationship? United States, Canada, and Mexico 2012,” at the
Kingston Conference on International Security, in Ontario, Canada, June 10-
12. The conference was sponsored by Queens’ University, the Royal Military
College, and the U.S. Army War College. Kilroy’s presentation involved
research conducted with colleagues from Mexico and Canada on a book
project titled Security Complexes and Perimeter Defense in North America:
A Critical Assessment. As part of a $3,300 Jackson-Hope Research Grant,
Kilroy traveled to Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico in
May with his colleagues to give presentations and conduct research on the
book. In June and July, Kilroy conducted interviews in Washington, D.C.,
on U.S. security policy toward Mexico and Canada and was interviewed
himself by National Public Radio about his research, particularly on border
security.
Journal of Military History Articles Receive Prizes
Articles that appeared in The Journal of Military History have received
top prizes awarded by both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy for articles
published in 2008. Dr. Timothy Wolters received the Rear Admiral Ernest
M. Eller Prize in Naval History for his article “Electric Torpedoes in the
Confederacy: Reconciling Conflicting Histories,” published in the July 2008
issue of the JMH. The $1,000 prize was awarded by the Naval History and
Heritage Command and the Naval Historical Foundation. Dr. Andrew J.
Birtle received the Army Historical Foundation’s prize for the best article
on the U.S. Army to appear in a journal or magazine in 2008 for “PROVN,
Westmoreland, and the Historians: A Reappraisal,” which appeared in
the October 2008 issue of the JMH. Col. Bruce Vandervort, professor of
history, is editor of the Journal.
Professor Speaks
Col. Richard J. Kilroy Jr., professor of international studies, presented a
paper July 15 at the World Congress of Political Science meeting in Santiago,
Chile. The title of his paper was “Guaranteeing Peace in Latin America: A
Case Study in Conflict Resolution Involving the Peru and Ecuador Border
Dispute of 1995.” Kilroy joined colleagues from the United States, Chile,
and South Korea on a panel focused on territorial disputes with colonial
legacies. He received a $2,000 grant from the Northeast Asian History
Foundation and a $1,000 grant-in-aid from VMI’s Research Committee to
fund the travel to Chile.
Professor Arranges Internships in Latin America
On his recent trip to Chile, Col. Kilroy met with members of the Defense
Attaché Office and the Military Advisory Group Commander to discuss
possible internships in those offices at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago next
summer. Kilroy has made contacts with similar offices in Mexico City and
San Salvador, expanding on a Memorandum of Agreement that he helped
to establish between VMI and Headquarters of U.S. Southern Command
in Miami, Fla. So far, three VMI cadets have served internships with
SOUTHCOM in Miami. Opportunities may be available for internships at
U.S. embassies in Chile, Mexico, and El Salvador next summer. Cadets
interested in pursuing these opportunities should contact Kilroy in the
international studies department.
VMI Prepared for Flu Season
The VMI infirmary has pandemic supply stockpiles at the ready for this
fall’s flu season, which is expected to include cases of H1N1 “swine” flu.
“We are expecting the flu here in the fall and we will instruct members
of the faculty, staff, cadre, the Corps and rats about what to watch for,” said
Dr. David Copeland, Institute physician. “We will administer flu vaccine
as it becomes available and isolate those who have the flu.”
VMI’s pandemic flu plan allows a flexible response based on the
virulence of the flu and includes ensuring VMI has on hand appropriate
amounts of medicines and medical supplies to deal with a large number
of cases of flu.
Swine flu is a Type A influenza. Symptoms can include fever, sore throat,
cough, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. The most effective
measures for preventing spread of the flu are hand washing and separating
infected people.
More information is available from the Centers for Disease Control and
on the VMI pandemic preparedness Web site, www.vmi.edu/pandemic.
“Fortunately, so far, the H1N1 flu has been pretty mild for healthy young
people, so as the old military saying goes, we are preparing for the worst
and hoping for the best,” said Copeland.
Pandemic supply stockpiles are ready for the fall flu season in the VMI
Health Center. – VMI File Photo by Kevin Remington.
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 17
Air Force Cadets in Summer Programs
By Capt. Noah Diehl, Air Force ROTC
Twelve of the cadets in VMI’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 880 volunteered
to be a part of this summer’s Air Force ROTC Professional Development
Training.
Seven cadets experienced life on a military base during Operations AF.
They shadowed officers and enlisted personnel and took orientation flights
on Air Force aircraft during this three-week program.
Three cadets traveled overseas and had the opportunity to experience a
different culture during through the Cadet Cultural Immersion Program.
They spent 10 days in their assigned countries, South Africa, Turkey, and
the Czech Republic.
One cadet was selected to intern at the National Reconnaissance Office
for four weeks.
Finally, one cadet was among the top Air Force ROTC cadets in the nation
selected to participate in Air Force freefall training at the U.S. Air Force
Academy in Colorado. Upon successful completion of the program, that
cadet will be eligible to wear jump wings.
For more information or to volunteer for next year’s summer programs,
contact Capt. Noah Diehl, PDT officer, at diehlnw@vmi.edu .
Also, it has been noted that, with 486 cadets participating during the last
academic year, VMI’s Air Force ROTC detachment is the nation’s largest
detachment.
Several instructors in VMI’s detachment are teaching a total number
of students greater than 72 percent of all detachments in the nation.
Also, class sizes for AS100 for 4th Class cadets and AS200 for 3rd
Class cadets are larger than 72 percent of all the small and medium
detachments.
The VMI detachment is instructing more students than even some of
the nation’s largest detachments, giving VMI instructors an opportunity
to influence, educate, and provide highly qualified officers candidates to
serve the U.S. Air Force.
Superintendent Visits Training
Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62, VMI superintendent, talks with cadets attending ROTC training at Fort Lewis, Wash., during the summer. Peay
also met with alumni stationed at Fort Lewis and training there for further assignments.
Page 18, The Institute Report, August 2009
Cadets Return to Post after Service Overseas
By Sherri Tombarge
This semester, like most in recent years, deployments to active military
duty mean that some cadets are returning to Post after interrupting their
studies to serve and some remain away from post, on duty.
Lt. Col. Gary Bissell, associate registrar, who is himself mobilized to the
Pentagon this semester, reports that among those cadets returning to VMI
from deployment are Andrew Morse ’09, who was deployed to Guantanamo
Bay with the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, and Brendan Walmsley ’09, who
was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom with the Army National Guard.
These cadets face readjustment to civilian life and to the VMI lifestyle.
“It is difficult returning to barracks life and living with barracks rules
and regulations after serving in a combat zone,” commented Bissell. “For
those 1st and 2nd class cadets who deploy, most of their classmates/friends
have graduated by the time of their return.
“Despite these setbacks, these cadets have been proud to deploy with
their units and serve their country. In many cases, they are able to take
what they learned while deployed and share these experiences with other
cadets. Some have even assisted in training for their respective ROTC
courses.”
Bissell reports that four cadets remain deployed or on active duty orders:
David Downing ’09, John Crowder ’08, and Emily Fritts ’10, Army National
Guard; and Nathanael Salatin ’09, U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. All are deployed
to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Fritts is home recovering from an injury.
“When cadets return to VMI, we meet with them during their first
couple of days prior to classes starting and introduce them to the various
departments and individuals on post who are available in assisting them
in their transition from soldier/marine/sailor/airmen to cadet/student,”
added Bissell.
Bissell notes that VMI also helps cadets transition to deployment and
keeps in contact with them while they are away.
“Prior to their departure, we meet with them and coordinate with their
units to assist them in their transition from cadet/student to soldier/marine/
sailor/airmen,” said Bissell. “While they are deployed, we send periodic
care packages, to include a VMI flag signed by the Corps of Cadets, faculty,
and staff.
“In many cases I am able to communicate with them while they are
deployed through e-mail, allowing them to update us on their status and
us to keep them up to date on what’s going on at VMI.”
Also off post this semester is Capt. Todd Pegg, energy manager and staff
engineer, who is currently deployed and expected to return to Post late
next spring.
“All of the cadet parking spaces on post will be clearly marked with
signs,” said Squire. “Tags corresponding to the various signs in the lots
will be methodically distributed to the 1st Class upon their return. … This
is going to be a cadet-run operation.”
The responsibility of policing cadet vehicles will also be set on the
shoulders of the 1st Class.
Having earned the privilege of possessing a car this year, Rogers said that
he was determined to see that underclass cadets do not have unauthorized
vehicles.
Cadet parking spaces will be reserved solely for cadet use.
“The spaces provided for the cadets on Post will be permanent spaces,”
Clark said. “They will not be required to relocate … [their vehicles] for
any events.” Unauthorized vehicles parked in the cadet spaces are subject
to being towed.
Significant care was exercised to ensure that many voices were heard
on this issue, and the makeup of the committee represented a wide
spectrum of interests.
In addition to Clark, Rogers and Squire, the committee included Lt.
Col. Jay Williams, ’83, chair, post engineer; Col. Eric Hutchings ’77, chief
of staff, athletics; Col. James Joyner, ’67, director of auxiliary services;
Lt. Col. David Williams, assistant director of auxiliary services; Lt. Col.
Dale Brown, director of construction; Lt. Col. Marti Bissell, assistant
chief of staff, superintendent’s office; Lt. Col. Gary Levenson, ’80, deputy
commandant; Lt. Col. Stewart MacInnis, director of communications and
marketing; Lt. Col. Adam Volant, ’88, executive vice president, VMI Alumni
Association; Lt. Col. Sandra Manuel, bursar; Capt. Christopher Perry ’05,
assistant commandant; Michael Marshall, VMI Police chief; Columbus
Cartwright, Rotary representative; and Melissa McCracken, administrative
assistant, physical plant.
Continued from page 15
Cadet Parking Plan
The Institute Report, August 2009, Page 19
North Post Training Grounds Construction To Begin
By John Robertson IV
Long-term projects in North Post, scheduled to begin in coming weeks,
are centered on the Military and Leadership Field Training Grounds,
which will provide state-of-the-art facilities including a fully baffled
rifle range, an updated obstacle course, and three elevated drill fields.
Construction on the grounds is slated to be complete in 2011.
“The new drill fields will provide more space to spread out cadet activities
that are currently sharing the Parade Ground or crammed into other nooks
around post,” Lt. Col. Dale Brown, director of construction, said.
“The new fully baffled firing range will not only provide a state-of-the-art
shooting facility for the cadets to use,” said Brown. “It will improve
the safety of the firing range, as the baffles are designed to contain stray
rounds.” The firing range will also feature traps behind the targets to
capture lead and thereby minimize its environmental impact.
The obstacle course will also offer improved safety and training
opportunities.
“The improvements to the pathways will make travel between obstacles
easier and safer,” said Brown. “The complete replacement of the
obstacles provides the opportunity to bring all obstacles in line with
current training standards. This should help commissioning cadets,
as they will train on many of the same obstacles when they enter active
duty.”
Both cadets and the wider community can expect to see the North
Post area change dramatically.
“The most visible changes to the North Post area … will be the closure
of access into North Post through Jordan’s Point during the construction,
the relocation of the cadet cars, and the relocation of the Woods Creek
Trail,” said Brown.
The work in North Post will also include the installation of a new
storm-water management system and the development of a riparian
buffer around Woods Creek.
A cooperative effort among administration, the commandant’s office,
and cadets has identified alternative parking areas for cadet parking
during construction. (See “Cadet Parking Plan a Cooperative Effort,”
page 15.)
“For the cadets, the improvements to the whole North Post Training Area
represent a huge improvement on their outdoor training activities,” said
Brown. “This complements the improvements to their indoor training
facilities located in Kilbourne Hall, Barracks and Marshall Hall.”
The renovations of the science building and the VMI Health Center
are still in the planning stages, and efforts to secure funding are under
way.
“The renovation of the Science Building is about 65 percent design
complete,” said Brown, “The design for the renovation of the post hospital
is just beginning.”
Continued from page 13
Renovated Barracks
Random Drug Testing to Begin
By Sherri Tombarge
Last February the VMI Board of Visitors approved a VMI Drug Testing
Program that includes random testing of the Corps of Cadets for illegal
drugs and illegal or inappropriate use of prescription drugs. Testing
under the program will begin by Oct. 1, said Lt. Col. Gary Levenson, deputy
commandant.
Random drug testing is common in the service academies, in the military
and in the corporate world, and the policy and procedures for VMI’s
program have been reviewed by the state attorney general’s office.
“We are on record; it’s in our policy that we have zero-tolerance for
drug use,” said Levenson, noting that use of illegal drugs and illegal and
inappropriate use of prescription drugs is a problem at many colleges and
universities.
“That’s a problem nationwide with drugs like Ritalin; people use the
drugs at times like exams. It leads to other things, like theft. It really
chips away at our system,” said Levenson.
And it’s not completely new to cadets. In the past, though there was
no random drug testing policy, cadets were required to submit to a test if
there was credible evidence.
“I’ve never had a cadet refuse to take a test,” said Levenson, even in
cases where the tests came out positive.
In the new program, names of cadets to be tested will be generated
randomly by computer, and initial testing of urine samples will be done
by the members of the commandant’s staff using an iScreen kit, selected
by Dr. David Copeland, Institute physician, and procedures he helped
establish.
“There will be a degree of privacy,” said Levenson, “but somebody will be
in the bathroom with the cadets. That’s to prevent someone from violating
a specimen by putting hot water in it, for instance.”
A second member of the commandant’s staff will test the sample using
the kit, so two members will be involved in each test.
Cadets producing urine samples that test positive will be required to go
to Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital to provide another sample for more
elaborate lab testing. Samples testing negative in the initial screening will
be discarded.
The cadet leadership was informed by the commandant that the program
would be implemented at last spring’s leadership retreat.
“This is just a part of the VMI system,” said Levenson. “The fact that
cadets know they may be tested at any given time may be a deterrent.”
Virginia military institute
communications & marketing office
Lexington, VA 24450-0304
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit no. 14
Lexington, VA
24450-0304
Page 20, The Institute Report, August 2009
VMI Wins Big South
Sportsmanship Award
VMI has been named the
winner of the Big Sout h
Conference’s annual Institutional
Sportsmanship Award for the
2008-09 athletic season. VMI
receives the honor for the
fourth consecutive year and has
claimed the honor all four years
of the award’s history.
The ov e r a l l winne r i s
de t e rmined on a s y s t em
r e c o g n i z i n g t h e h i g h e s t
percentage of the maximum
possible points an institution is
capable of achieving for each
team award. The team awards
were voted on by Big South student-athletes following each Conference
championship
VMI, which was honored with six team sportsmanship awards in
2008-09, was tops among the Big South membership with a 33.66
percentage of the maximum points received in its sponsored League
sports.
VMI was voted by Big South
student-athletes as the top
sportsmanship team in men’s
cross country, football, men’s
basketball, men’s indoor and
outdoor track and field, and
baseball in 2008-09. Liberty
University finished second with
a 32.89 percentage, followed
by Gardner-Webb University at
25.53 percent.
“This award reflects the
commitment on the part of
the Big South Conference and
its members to the important
values of sportsmanship and
ethical conduct,” said Kyle B. Kallander, Big South commissioner. “It
is important that we not only emphasize our desire to conduct our
athletic competitions in a sportsmanlike manner, but also to recognize
those that do it the best.”
Information for this article was provided by the Big South Office of
Public Relations.
VMI basketball was one of several Keydet squads to win team-specific
sportsmanship honors. – Photo courtesy of VMI Sports Information.