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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.
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Repository | Virginia Military Institute Archives |
VMI Archives Record Group | Publications |
Title | Institute Report. August 2009 |
Description | A publication of the VMI Office of Communications and Marketing containing news and events information. Volume XXXVII, Number 1 |
Date | 2009-08 |
Subject | Virginia Military Institute -- Publications. |
Digital Publisher | Virginia Military Institute Archives |
Creator | Virginia Military Institute |
Rights | Materials in the VMI Archives Digital Collections are intended for educational and research use and may be used for non-commercial purposes with appropriate attribution. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information. |
Type | text |
Format | application/pdf |
Full Text Search | 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. |
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