Institute Report
Virginia Military Institute
Volume XLV, Number V, March 2017
‘They Looked Magnificent’
The Corps of Cadets Marches in the Presidential Inaugural Parade
By Maj. John Robertson IV
The Corps of Cadets was the last and by
far the largest unit in the presidential inaugural parade Jan. 20. The Corps’ participation, seen by millions across the nation,
provided a striking finale to the parade
honoring the inauguration of Donald J.
Trump as the nation’s 45th president.
“To me it became a higher purpose.
They shined a little more; they stood a little
taller,” said Col. William Wanovich ’89,
commandant. “When they come together
like that, and they focus on VMI as an
institution, they’re magnificent. There’s
nothing more powerful, nothing stronger
than the Corps operating as a corps.”
The cadets returned from furlough just
five days before the parade, so with only
three practice sessions to perfect their
formations, the commandant’s staff took
the Corps onto the Parade Ground to focus
on the turns.
See Inaugural Parade, page 14
The VMI Corps of Cadets marches past President Trump’s reviewing stand during the inaugural parade on Jan. 20. – Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Return
New Aluminum Carriages Expected to Last Centuries
By Kelly Nye
Some things are not built to last. The often-rebuilt wooden carriages that once supported Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – the
cannons of the cadet battery – were among them.
Even in the 1848, the wooden carriages were not expected to
last more than a few years. While the same cannon tubes have
served cadets as artillery training pieces, went to war with the
Rockbridge Artillery in 1861, and were fired ceremonially until
the 1980s, they have been supported by many, many sets of wooden carriages.
“We could only expect to get about seven or eight years out of
a wooden carriage. That was a constant maintenance problem,”
explained Col. Keith Gibson, executive director of VMI’s museum system.
It’s a problem that battlefields around the country are dealing
with as well. That’s why many of them are switching to aluminum
carriages. About a year ago, VMI decided to make the switch as well.
See Cannons Return, page 10
Institute Report
Volume XLV, Number V, March 2017
The Institute Report, VMI’s monthly newsletter,
publishes eight issues during each academic
year. Inquiries, suggestions, news items,
and address changes should be directed to
Editor, Institute Report, VMI Communications
and Marketing, Lexington, VA 24450‑0304;
(540) 464‑7207; or [email protected]. © 2017
Virginia Military Institute.
Director
Col. Stewart MacInnis
Editor
Maj. John Robertson IV
Graphic Artist
Robbin Youngblood
Contributors
Scott Belliveau ’83
Chris Floyd
Stephen Hanes
H. Lockwood McLaughlin
Kelly Nye
Mary Price
Header photo on page 1 by
Kelly Nye
The Virginia Military Institute is committed to
providing an environment that emphasizes
the dignity and worth of every member of its
community and that is free from harassment and
discrimination based on race, sex, color, national
origin, religion, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, against
otherwise qualified persons with disabilities, or
based on any other status protected by law. Every
VMI staff member, faculty member and cadet has
the right to work and study in an environment free
from discrimination and should be treated with
dignity and respect. VMI complaint and grievance
procedures provide employees and cadets with
the means for resolving complaints when this
Statement has been violated. VMI is an Equal
Opportunity Employer. Anyone having questions
concerning discrimination or the application
of Title IX regulations should contact Title IX
Coordinator, 212 Carroll Hall, VMI, Lexington, Va.
24450, (540) 464‑7072. Any cadet or prospective
cadet having questions about disability services
for students should contact the Director of
the Center for Cadet Counseling and Disability
Services, 448 Institute Hill, 2 nd floor, Post Infirmary,
Lexington, Va. 24450, (540) 464‑7667. For employment-related disability services, contact
the Employee Disability Services Coordinator in
the VMI Human Resources Office, Lexington, Va.
24450, (540) 464‑7322.
2
Campaign Tops $310.3 Million
By Scott Belliveau ’83
In a message sent to the VMI community in
late January, Donald M. Wilkinson ’61, chairman of An Uncommon Purpose: A Glorious
Past, A Brilliant Future: The Campaign for
VMI, announced that as of the end of 2016,
more than 14,750 alumni and friends had
made $310.3 million in gifts and commitments
to the campaign.
“This generosity has done – and will do –
many things to strengthen the Institute,” said
Wilkinson. “It will be better able to carry on
its important historic mission of graduating
young people who are ready and able to
provide leadership in their chosen professions and to serve their communities and our
great country.”
Writing in Issue 1 of the 2017 VMI Alumni
Review, he also noted that the six-year campaign would conclude its work on behalf of the
Institute on June 30, 2017, the final day of fiscal
year 2017. Wilkinson pointed out that closing
the campaign at the
end of June will allow
a new generation of
leaders to develop the
knowledge, skills, and experience they’ll need
to ensure the success of future fundraising
efforts in support of the Institute.
Wilkinson promised that although the
campaign will run for just five more months,
all those associated with the campaign will
not be slackening their efforts. “Like all good
athletes, we are aware of the need to give our
all until the end of the contest,” he said.
“From now until the end of June,” said
Warren J. “Buddy” Bryan ’71, the VMI
Foundation’s CEO, who now is in charge of
the campaign’s daily operations, “all of our
volunteer leaders and the staffs of the VMI
Alumni Agencies will be taking the campaign’s message to the VMI family in order
to ensure that alumni and friends are aware
of the many opportunities they have to participate in this effort—and make a profound
difference in the future of VMI.”
To keep up with the progress of An
Uncommon Purpose,
visit www.vmi.edu/
campaign/progress. Corps Physical
Training Facility
Dedication
Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62,
VMI superintendent, and Gen.
John P. Jumper ’66, Board of
Visitors president, cut the
ribbon during the dedication ceremony of the Corps
Physical Training Facility on
Jan. 26. The ceremony celebrates the completion of a
two-year, $84 million project
that has provided the Corps
with a world-class training
and competition facility. – VMI
Photo by Kelly Nye.
VMI Institute Report
Breakout for the
Class of 2020
Saturday, Feb. 4, began with a
wake up call from the cannon
Little John at 5 a.m. for the
new cadets who broke out of
the Rat Line later that day. The
day included an early march to
McKethan Park, with physical
training stations there followed
by more physical training stations at North Post in the afternoon. During the culminating
event the new cadets crawled
across the Parade Ground with
sandbags to fill in the ’20 and
the ’17 representing their class
and their dykes’ class. For more
photos visit flickr.com/vmiphotos. – VMI Photos by Kelly Nye
and H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
Clark to Lead Finance, Administration, and Support
Col. Dallas Clark '99 has been named director of finance, adminisThe director oversees a broad spectrum of offices including the
tration, and support for Virginia Military Institute. He assumed his
treasurer and comptroller, auxiliary services, planning, physical
new duties in mid-February.
plant, human resources, infirmary and counseling, police, museum
“Colonel Clark has a long association with VMI and he has a deep
operations, and construction. understanding of the offices and the people for whom he
will be responsible,” said Gen. J.H. Binford Peay '62, VMI
superintendent. “His knowledge, his judgment, and his
character will serve VMI well.”
Clark was appointed associate deputy superintendent for finance, administration and support in
March 2016 and worked in that position until late last
year. He served as VMI's Institute planning officer
from 2006 to 2016. Prior to that, he was a vice president in the VMI Alumni Association responsible
for organizing national volunteer efforts for alumni chapters.
Clark graduated from VMI in 1999 with a bachelor's
degree in economics and business and later earned
a Master of Business Administration from Virginia
Col. Dallas Clark ’99 addresses VMI faculty and friends after receiving the Meritorious
Commonwealth University.
Service Medal in Oct. 2016. – VMI File Photo by Stephen Hanes.
March 20173
Being WiSE to STEM Opportunities
Group Encourages Community, Cohesiveness Among Female STEM Majors
By Mary Price
There’s a new group on post for cadets majoring in the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – and it
just received funding from a national organization.
WiSE, which stands for Women in Science and Engineering, was
formed two years ago to support female cadets pursuing those traditionally male-dominated disciplines. The group, now with about 15
members, got a boost this year with the receipt of a $1,000 grant from
the American Physical Society’s Committee on the Status of Women
in Physics. VMI was one of 11 institutions nationwide to receive funding from the organization this year.
“Last year was the second time we applied and we were fortunate
to receive the funding,” said Col. Daniela Topasna, professor of physics and astronomy, who serves as mentor to the group.
Topasna said the funds would be used to further the group’s existing activities, which include dinners, movie nights, and field trips to
labs and other places of interest to STEM majors. Often, members of
WiSE join with other groups of cadets on post for these excursions.
In the spring of 2016, for example, members of WiSE and the Society
Julianne Knoblett ’20, Eryn Daman ’18, and Marlene Haag ’18, each members of WiSE, look at a computer image taken by a telescope with Col.
Daniela Topasna, professor of physics and astronomy. – VMI Photo by H.
Lockwood McLaughlin.
of Physics Students came together to visit the Naval Surface Warfare
Center at Dahlgren, Virginia.
Closer to home, the WiSE group gives presentations to children at
the Virginia Science Festival at Lexington each October, with the goal
of showing them just how much fun science can be.
“One of our goals is to get more involved with the community,” said
Marlene Haag ’18, vice president of WiSE for the 2016-17 academic year.
“Science gets a bad reputation a lot for being too boring or too
nerdy or too hard,” Haag continued. “But if we can show kids at a
young age how much fun it can be and how cool it is and how interesting it can be to be a successful scientist or science student, then
maybe they can grow up with a better attitude toward it.”
Members of the group would like to begin an outreach program
to local schools, both Topasna and Haag said, if cadets’ schedules permit.
WiSE members, particularly upper class cadets, also take time to
encourage and support female 4th Class cadets majoring in the STEM
disciplines. Topasna said she’s excited that of the 10 physics majors in
the Class of 2020, three are women.
“It’s also good to be mentors to the Rats,” she commented. “We want
to keep them in our major.”
Agreeing with Topasna, Haag stated, “Here [at VMI], there’re
so few women already, and the women in the science fields are
even fewer.”
The goal of the WiSE group is to encourage cohesiveness and community among those women, noted Col. Tim Hodges ’80, chair of the
Department of Physics and Astronomy. “We created the club at VMI
to give the STEM undergraduate women a way to connect with each
other … so they could support each other and complete these difficult
majors,” Hodges said.
“It’s important to have a role model to discuss this with,” Hodges
stated, “and that’s our female faculty.” He added that his department
has three tenured women faculty members, out of a total of 10.
Haag stressed that while the group’s name suggests that it’s only
for women, and specifically those majoring in the STEM fields, the
group welcomes and all interested cadets. “The cool thing about it is
that men are also welcome if they’d like,” she said. “It’s an open and
free space for people to come and feel welcome. This club is a great
way to find out how you can further your studies and your career in
science.” Bryan ’71 Named VMI Foundation Interim CEO
By Scott Belliveau ’83
Warren J. “Buddy” Bryan ’71 became the interim CEO of the VMI
Foundation Jan. 1. In this role, he is responsible for the day-to-day
leadership of the VMI Foundation, setting the strategic direction for
the organization, and acting as its official representative in various capacities.
As a cadet, he majored in biology and participated in many
activities, including the glee club and The Cadet. After graduation,
4
he served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force for four years, flying the KC135 Stratotanker.
Beginning work at the VMI Foundation in May 1976, Bryan is one
of the longest-serving employees in the organization’s history –
and he is well known throughout the VMI community. During his
time at the Foundation, he has been responsible for The Institute
Society; the 50th and 25th reunion campaigns; planned giving, and
VMI Institute Report
Warren J. “Buddy”
Bryan ’71
major gift solicitations. Immediately before
becoming Interim CEO, he had served as the
Foundation’s vice president for major gifts
for 10 years.
His ties to the Institute are not restricted
to the office, however. His wife, Carol, was his
Ring Figure date, and his son, Paul T. Bryan,
graduated in 2005. Furthermore, both of
his daughters, Amy and Heather, married
alumni: Kramer W. Reeves ’89 and Colin K.
Boynton ’96, respectively. Furthermore, an
uncle, Ronald M. Bryan Sr., is a 1955 graduate, and a cousin, R. Scott
Bryan Jr., graduated in 1943.
“I am honored by the confidence the trustees of the VMI
Foundation have placed in me,” said Bryan of his current role. “This
is an exceptional opportunity to lead the Foundation and its highly skilled and dedicated staff and work with our devoted volunteer leaders.
“I look forward to serving the Foundation and the VMI family in
this new role as we strive together to ensure this special institution
has the resources it needs to continue to educate honorable citizen-soldiers,” he concluded. Emily P. Miller: ‘Every Day Gives Me an Opportunity’
By Scott Belliveau ’83
When Col. Emily P. Miller joined what
was then the Department of English and
Fine Arts in 1988, she already had been in
Lexington for two years, serving as an assistant professor of English at Washington and
Lee University.
Although during that time she had become
somewhat familiar with VMI and cadets,
she didn’t know what they would be like
as students.
“I anticipated that cadets might be more
homogeneous in their thinking and more
reticent to voice their views than students at
schools where I had taught previously, the
University of Virginia, Wake Forest, and
Washington and Lee,” she recalled. “I found
exactly the opposite to be the case: they are
much more willing to share their own views,
and they do not by any means all think alike.”
Miller soon found other things to like
about teaching at VMI. For example, she
noted that the small class sizes and the low
cadet-faculty ratio allows faculty “to get to
know our students well and often serve as
mentors throughout their cadetships and beyond.” She also appreciates the honor system.
“It creates an atmosphere of trust in the
classroom and allows faculty to accept a
cadet’s word on any matter,” she said.
However, for her, it always comes back to
how much she enjoys cadets. “I
value their eagerness to take
on challenges both in and out of
the classroom,” she said. “Also,
while they have strong determination and a healthy sense
of pride, they are also quick to
admit any failures and to try
again.” She also admits to appreciating cadets’ “candor, lack of
pretense, and honesty,” and she
also likes “their terrific senses
of humor.”
With a Ph.D. in English from
the University of Virginia
and a specialty in the English
Renaissance, Miller has taught
Shakespeare (her courses on
this subject have been popular
among cadets), British and
American literature, public
speaking, and writing. She has
served on and chaired numerous committees, including the
Academic Program and Review
Col. Emily Miller discusses Shakespeare with her cadets. – VMI
File Photo by Maj. John Robertson IV.
Committee, the Academic
Policy Committee, the Curriculum and
Instruction Committee, and the VMI Alumni
Faculty Recruiting Committee. She has had
leadership positions in two of the decennial
self-studies that VMI has conducted since
1988, serving as the associate director of
the Strategic Self-Study for one and the
chair of the SACS Compliance Certification
Committee for the other. Miller holds two
other distinctions: in 1992, she became the
first woman to head an academic department
at VMI, and she is now the longest-serving
department head on post.
Miller’s prowess as a teacher and scholar
and her service to the Institute have been
recognized in numerous ways. The most
impressive recognition, however, probably
has been the five awards of the Navas-Read
Institute Professorship in English Literature
that she has received since 1996.
It is no surprise that someone with such a
record of service to and support of VMI also
gives to the Institute. Asked why she gives,
she replied, “I continue to be impressed
with the ways in which the VMI program
prepares exceptional citizens and leaders.
So I give to support its mission of producing
outstanding citizen-soldiers.”
More specifically, she directs her philanthropy to the VMI Faculty Merit Scholarship
and the Foundation Fund. Asked why she
has made these choices, she replied, “Every
day gives me an opportunity to work with
outstanding young people who hold themselves to such high standards in all areas of
their education – academic, physical, and
military. It makes sense, therefore, to give
outstanding young people the opportunity to
attend this institution and to be a part of the
Foundation’s efforts to help VMI enrich its
first-rate educational program.” March 20175
VMI Community Uses CPTF ‘to its Full Capability’
By Chris Floyd
The cameras and mobile
host to indoor track meets is a
devices were working overtime
thing of the past, and he has a
Jan. 28 as spectators scrambled
vision of what he would like to
to document the grand opensee in the future.
ing of VMI’s Corps Physical
“Somewhere, dual and quadTraining Facility.
type meets kind of got lost
And while the spectacle of the
in track and field,” he said. “I
multi-million-dollar, state-ofwould like for one of our events
the-art facility was more than
to be something that’s spectaenough to fill memory cards and
tor friendly.”
social media pages, the more
Isaac Slone, who moved over
than 1,000 people who filed
from VMI’s Physical Plant to
through the facility that day
become building director of the
received another treat.
Corps Physical Training Facility,
The VMI track team chrisnoted that the Institute is taking
tened the CPTF in fine fashion,
things slow as far as scheduling
with both the men’s and women’s
events is concerned. He does,
Levi Whitt ’19 of the VMI indoor track team pole vaults in the new Corps
squads earning victories over
however, envision a time when
Physical Training Facility during the meet against the Citadel. – VMI Photo by
The Citadel. In the first home
the CPTF is used for all types of
Kelly Nye.
meet for the Keydets since
track events.
2013, the VMI men topped the
“Down the road, track-wise,
Bulldogs, 78-68, while the women scored an 87-51 win over their
we’re hoping to host six to eight meets ourselves,” he said. “We’ve
rivals from Charleston, S.C.
already had high school conferences call, wanting to reserve the
Among the winners for the VMI women was Kerisha Goode ’18,
facility. We’re very adamant about taking this slow and doing
who took the top spots in both the 60-meter and 200-meter sprints
it right.”
and recognized the fact that she was part of history.
The track is a major part of the CPTF, but it is only a part. It will be
Goode recalled something her former sprints coach told her when home to the indoor track team, but it also will be open to the entire
she was first considering VMI.
Corps of Cadets. ROTC groups have already been using the facility,
“He said, ‘You can go to another school and be just another body,
and it welcomed other members of the Corps Feb. 1. Cadre spent
but if you come to VMI, you’re going to start a legacy.’ For me, that’s
three days training there recently, and it will not be long before they
what this means.
bring in their companies.
“Now that we have this, we’re just happy,” continued Goode,
And when they arrive, they will have a wealth of training opporwho set a personal-best time in the 60 early in the meet. “It’s a very
tunities awaiting them.
fast track.”
Along with the stellar track, the facility boasts a climbing wall
There are actually three tracks in the CPTF: the sprint track down and a high ropes course, consisting of 12 elements 65 feet in the
which Goode blazed Saturday, a warm-up track that winds around
air. There is a military obstacle course, a weight room and a smart
the upper level, and a 200-meter track on the ground floor. The latter classroom that is equipped with all of the amenities needed for 21st
is one that is truly special. It is supported by hydraulics, one of only
century education.
five such tracks on the east coast and one of only eight in the coun“I’m really excited about the day I have the Corps in here, and
try, and the turns can be raised or lowered depending upon the race they’re using the climbing wall and the high ropes courses and
being run at the time.
Darrin’s got the track team doing workouts down below, seeing all
In addition, the facility houses space for all of the field events, and that going on at the same time the way it was designed,” said Slone.
that, as much as anything is what has Darrin Webb, VMI’s director
“The commandant and I had a lot of talks, and we wanted to make
of track and field and cross country, the most excited.
sure that since we have this great facility, it actually gets used and
“I remember when Vision 2039 was announced,” he said. “I
doesn’t just sit there looking pretty,” Slone added. “We want to use it
remember when this was first talked about, and now it is a reality.
to its full capability.”
From design, three-plus years ago, through construction to today. …
In that spirit, the facility has also been opened to faculty and staff
They did it to have one of the top facilities in the country.”
who wish to use the upper-level track on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
No one is really sure when the next track meet will be held at the
All involved in the project agree that the Corps Physical Training
CPTF; future plans are still in the works. But VMI will serve as host
Facility is one of the best in the country, and Webb probably summed
to the Southern Conference Championships next year, opening the
up their feeling the best.
facility’s doors to other members of the league.
“We’re just fortunate,” said Webb. “We’ve got a great facility. I tell
Webb joked that he never wants to go on the road again. Though
our freshmen and the kids we are recruiting right now, ‘You hit the
that will not happen, he does know that VMI’s days of never playing
jackpot!’” 6
VMI Institute Report
Post Briefs
Phillips Receives 2017 AMCSUS Leadership Award
Professor Presents on Wittgenstein
Luke Phillips ’17 was selected as the 2017 Association of Military Colleges
Dr. Duncan Richter, professor of English, rhetoric, and humanistic
and Schools of the United States Leadership Award winner. The award,
studies, presented his scholarship on the well-known philosopher
which consists of a $1,000 check and a plaque, will be presented at the
Wittgenstein twice during the fall semester. Richter gave his paper,
organization’s scholarship and awards banquet Feb. 27. The honor is
“Wittgenstein and the Value of Clarity,” at the annual meeting of the
awarded annually to a top leader from among the six senior military
British Wittgenstein Society in Leeds, U.K., in September. He then
colleges. Phillips was recently ranked number one on the Army ROTC’s
presented the same material at the Annual Regional Wittgenstein
National Order of Merit list, competes on the Institute’s track team, and is
Workshop at West Virginia University in October. Richter’s paper dis-
the Corps’ S2 captain.
cusses the value of clarity in language and both the possible advan-
Correction: ‘Doing the Right Things the Right Way’
tages and disadvantages of terminological choices that aim not to be
clear or accurate but to persuade through non-rational means. Richter
The school at which Zack Scott ’89 commenced his coaching career was
believes that a discussion of the words we use to refer to events and
incorrectly identified as the John W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School.
issues is relevant because political correctness has become such a
The correct name of the school is the James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary
contentious issue.
School. Located in Fairfax County, Virginia, the school is named in honor of
James W. Robinson, Jr., who was killed in action on April 11, 1966. Sergeant
VMI to Host 2017 USIBA Boxing Nationals
Robinson posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his “conspicu-
For the first time ever, on March 23-25, VMI will host the 2017 USIBA
ous gallantry and heroism” in the battle in which he died. He was the first
Boxing Nationals, the national championships for collegiate boxing.
Virginian to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. His father
Between 150 and 200 fighters are expected to compete in this year’s
later gave the school his son’s medal, and it is on display at the school.
event, to be held in Cocke Hall. Quarterfinals will be held Thursday, March
Two Honored by SoCon
23, at 6 p.m., while semifinals will be held Friday, March 24, also at 6 p.m.
Tickets for each of these events
Two members of the VMI faculty and staff, Col. W.G. “Grigg” Mullen Jr.
are $10 per person. Finals will
’76 and Lance M. Fujiwara, have been named to the Southern Conference
be held Saturday, March 25, at
Faculty and Staff Team. The two are among 20 individuals honored by the
4 p.m. Tickets for finals are $15
conference this year for their demonstrated service to their institution
per person. Tickets for all three
and their contributions to the community. Mullen, a 25-year veteran of the
events are $25 per person, with
VMI faculty, teaches civil and environmental engineering and oversees the
children 5 and under admitted
VMI chapter of the Timber Framers Guild, which does community service
free to all events. To pre-order
projects each year. As head athletic trainer/director of sports medicine
tickets, call 540-464-7852 or email
since 1988, and as an associate athletic director since 2008, Fujiwara
[email protected]. Tickets
has cared for thousands of cadet athletes over the course of his career.
will also be available at the door
Mullen and Fujiwara will be honored at a home basketball game.
the day of the events. Nutritionists
Offer Expertise
Andrew Vaccaro ’18 speaks
with
nutritionists
from
Aramark at a table set up in
Crozet Hall on Feb. 7. Healthy
food samples were available for cadets, including
low-fat desserts. The session, timed to coincide with
the completion of the ratline, aimed to give members
of the Corps guidance on
healthy food choices available on post. – VMI Photo by H.
Lockwood McLaughlin.
March 20177
Cadets Learn to ‘See in Different Ways’
Two New Courses Explore Photography Principles and Techniques
By Mary Price
Two new photography courses being
taught this spring in the Department of
English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies
are exposing cadets to one of the youngest of
the visual arts.
Claudia Smigrod, a 34-year veteran of
the Corcoran College of Art and Design, is
teaching Visual Arts Studio/Light Studies
and Optical Culture, along with Graphic:
The Identification, Ethics, and Creation of
Iconic Photographic Images. Smigrod holds
the Edwin P. Conquest ’14 Chair within the
department, which was established in 1971
for visiting scholars in the humanities.
Between them, the two photography courses enroll 23 cadets, all raised in the era of
digital images and smartphone cameras, yet
each is learning the roots of photography by
developing film in a darkroom. Prior to this
course, Smigrod noted, only one cadet had
even used a film camera.
Smigrod described the design of the visual
arts studio course as “a hybrid of working in
the wet darkroom and working digitally.”
To help her cadets understand the fundamental principles of photography, Smigrod
had them make their own pinhole cameras
using empty paint cans. They
then developed their images
in VMI’s seldom-used darkroom, located in the basement
of Preston Library. Doing this,
Smigrod explained, helps
new photographers better
understand the roles of light
and exposure.
“It’s important to be knowledgeable in your field, so you
know the historical precedents,”
she commented. “Working with
film is so beautiful. Working
in the digital arena should not
Claudia Smigrod explains the importance of Ansel Adams’ work
come at the cost of the analog
in the early history of photography to her visual arts class. – VMI
arena. They both should be able
Photo by Kelly Nye.
to coexist.”
The one cadet who’d used a film camera
professional-level camera, which he used at
before, Albert Wu ’17, said that a chance to
the inauguration of President Donald Trump
learn more about film was part of what drew to take photos that were later posted on the
him to the class. “I breathe digital photograInstitute’s social media. A civil engineering
phy,” said Wu. “It’s an old thing for me. Film
major, he signed up for the photography
is something I’m familiar with, but I’m not an course to fulfill a humanities requirement –
expert on.”
and the chance to learn from an expert. “I’m
Wu has been taking pictures since he
excited to see what techniques I can pick up,”
was 14 years old and came to VMI with a
Wu said.
In Smigrod’s other class, the one focusing on iconic images, cadets are learning
why certain images, such as Joe Rosenthal’s
photograph of U.S. Marines raising the
American flag on Iwo Jima during World
War II, become so incredibly powerful
and well-known. What’s more, they will
attempt to create their own iconic images
via assignments such as a self-portrait and
a photographic documentary of a road trip,
whether real or imagined. As Smigrod explained, “The images we’re making now are
the future iconic images.”
Smigrod is also taking time in the iconic
images course to discuss the ethics of photography, such as at what point, if ever, should a
photographer move from objective bystander to active participant in the scene he or she
is shooting.
“I just want to shake up their brains,”
she said. “I want them to think about
things that they haven’t thought to think
about yet.”
Conquest Visiting Chair Claudia Smigrod shows cadets Angelique Barlow ’17 and Albert Wu ’17 how to
The freedom to explore and create in a
print a positive image from a negative using an enlarger in the Preston Library darkroom. – Photo courtesy
of Albert Wu ’17.
new medium attracted Hayley Freeman ’17
8
VMI Institute Report
to the iconic images class. “For the iconic
photographs, it’s your definition of what that
is,” she noted.
After just two weeks of classes, Freeman
found herself appreciating Smigrod’s teaching style, which includes giving cadets wide
latitude in their assignments.
“When she gives you an assignment … she
lets you be free and do what you want to do,”
she explained. “For here, that’s different. It’s
usually very strict. I love that aspect. When
we get to working with the film cameras,
I’m really excited to have the free range to
do whatever.”
Like Freeman, Smigrod has found herself
adjusting to a new environment. Coming
to VMI from Corcoran, she’s discovered
that cadets approach the visual arts very
differently than did the art school students
she taught for decades. “[Cadets] don’t have a
lot of art baggage, but they don’t have an art
vocabulary,” she noted. To remedy the latter
situation, Smigrod takes time to introduce
artistic concepts such as positive and negative space.
The visual arts, she believes, have a
critically important role to play in a liberal
arts education. “Art has such a great impact
on our life every moment,” Smigrod stated.
“If someone helps us realize that we have
the capacity to see in different ways, and to
appreciate those who have come before, we
are more educated.” VMI Places Third in Game Day Challenge
Physical Plant Effort Keeps over a Ton of Recyclables out of the Landfill
By Chris Floyd
In one of his last acts as the custodial supervisor for VMI’s physical plant before being named director of the new Corps Physical
Training Facility, Capt. Isaac Slone gathered
together a group of cadets and issued a
challenge at the football game between the
Keydets and the Citadel in November.
As a result, VMI was recognized as one of
the top recycling institutions in the country.
The Game Day Challenge, a nationwide
recycling effort embraced by many NCAA
members, is a competition that encourages
recycling during sporting events. VMI
joined the effort last fall, and as a result collected over a ton of recycled material to place
third among participants in the Southern
Conference and 17 th in the country.
“Our goal was to encourage spectators,
staff, tailgaters, the whole nine yards to focus
Over a ton of recycling material was collected for The Game Day Challenge during the Citadel football
more on recycling stuff, to reduce the waste
game last November. – VMI Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
and trash that comes out [of the games],”
said Slone. “We’re trying to encourage VMI to recycle year round.
“We [also] had cadets whose job throughout the day was just to
Hopefully people will start to take notice.”
walk around, answer questions about recycling or to collect recyIt’s important, Slone said, that they do. And even if recycling is
cling,” Slone said. “They then got that out so physical plant could pick
the last thing most people think about during a football game, they
it up and bring it over to North Post.”
should start thinking about it more, especially at VMI.
Once the waste was hauled to North Post, it was placed in two wait“You can look at it economically,” he said. “Eventually we’re going
ing dumpsters. Slone and his team then had to get “down and dirty
to run out of those resources, but technology is advancing so that
with it.” Once the recycling was sorted and the dumpsters weighed, it
now they can use a lot of recycled material to make new things.
was determined that VMI that day had recycled at a 46 percent rate,
“I think it’s a stewardship, especially at VMI,” Slone continued.
good enough for a respectable finish in the challenge.
“We’re training cadets to be stewards of not only the country but also
Slone, who praised the efforts of the athletics department, the
of the community. I think recycling and protecting the environment
Keydet Club, the Parents’ Council and other entities about spreadis part of that stewardship.”
ing the news about the recycling effort, said that while he was
On that Saturday in November, Slone and his group of cadets, led
pleased with VMI’s showing in the Game Day Challenge, he was far
by Korey Bullard ’17, Kerisha Goode ’18, and Desmond Weinbergfrom satisfied.
Jones ’18, all members of the recycling club, started the day by
“VMI will continue to do it,” he said. “We’re looking to expand
meeting spectators on the parade ground. Each fan was given two
next year and are looking to be first in the division and top-10 in the
recycling bags and a trash bag, along with instructions on what to put nation. I definitely believe that with what we’ve learned this year, we
in each and details about the Game Day Challenge.
easily should [do that].” March 20179
Cadet Battery’s Return Recalls a Rich History
The four cannons of the cadet battery have
Since standard six-pounder barrels weighed
are slightly smaller than the typical carriage,”
been on silent display at the Institute for much
as much as 800 pounds, the cannons of the ca-
said Col. Keith Gibson ’77 Executive Director
of their 169-year history, but Matthew, Mark,
det battery were a special design for VMI. With
of the VMI Museum System. “They were drill
Luke, and John have made some noise in
barrels molded to be 14 inches shorter than the
guns, they were not supposed to go off to war,
their time.
standard, they weighed only 562 pounds, mak-
but in fact they did in 1861 with the Rockbridge
ing it possible for cadets to pull the cannons up
Artillery and they continued to be used until the
the hill to the Parade Ground during drills.
1862 campaigns,” he continued.
The six-pounder guns were custom made
in 1848 by Cyrus Alger and Co., in Boston,
Massachusetts, as drill guns for training VMI cadets and emblazoned with the seal of Virginia.
“These carriages differ from those that you
might see on a national battlefield in that they
It was during this time that the cannons
were nicknamed for the four evangelists by the
Rockbridge Artillery’s captain and Episcopal
minister, William Pendleton.
The cannons were captured by Union forces
during the war, and they would not be returned
until 1876. Since then they have remained on
display at the Institute. Though the carriages
have been replaced many times, the tubes are
the original ones made for the Corps in 1848.
Their bright brass color has slowly yielded to
the current green patina, and the decision not
to polish them was a deliberate one.
As Gibson explained, “It’s taken one hundred
and sixty years to create that look and it speaks
to their age and their time here at the Institute.”
As recently as the 1980s the cannons were
still fired for events such as Founders Day and
the New Market parade, but now their sole
purpose is for display.
As Gibson said, “They really are monument
guns, a testament to VMI’s service.”
Cadets fire the cadet battery in front of Jackson Memorial Hall in 1985. – Photo courtesy of VMI Archives.
Cannons Return ––Kelly Nye
continued from page 1
“The decision to go to the aluminum instead of the
wood really reflects [the cannons’] current status
as monuments here on the Parade Ground,” explained Gibson.
VMI chose to use a company that is known for
making Civil War era aluminum carriage replacements, Steen Cannons. Based in Ashland, Kentucky, the
company has replaced cannon carriages at Vicksburg,
Manassas, Petersburg, and many other historic sites.
“Anywhere there are Civil War cannons, you’ll
find our carriages,” said Will Steen, a craftsman with
Steen Cannons.
The company produces about four to six carriages a
month, and their proficiency is clear. The company is able
to replicate the original carriages in every detail, including finishing the surfaces with a wood-grain pattern.
As Steen explained, “they are painted to look like
wood so most people aren’t going to be able to tell
Continued on next page
10
A close inspection shows the wood grain pattern and new hardware on the cadet battery’s
carriages. – VMI Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
VMI Institute Report
Continued
Col. Keith Gibson ’77, Executive Director for the Museum System, inspects
the new carriages with Steen Cannon’s Will Steen as physical plant crew
members put the tubes into place. – VMI Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
they’re aluminum until you go up and bang on them.” The wood grain
look is made by the painting technique used. Underneath the paint,
the aluminum is smooth.
But the cadet battery presented a new challenge for Steen. The carriages are not the standard size for a Civil War-era cannon. A standard
cannon tube weighs around 800 pounds, which would have been
nearly impossible for cadets to pull up VMI’s steep hill to the Parade
Ground. The VMI tubes were specially made to be a comparatively light
562 pounds, with smaller carriages to fit accordingly.
“These smaller carriages… created a challenge in manufacturing. There aren’t any molds for them. Everything had to start from
scratch,” said Gibson.
For that reason, the process took longer than normal. The carriages were removed in June 2016, and finally returned Jan. 10.
Steen enjoyed the challenge, “this was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime
job, and it was really fun to be able to do it.” Winter Sports in Full Swing
By Chris Floyd
VMI’s winter sports teams closed January with a bang, with the
wrestlers earning an impressive finish at the All-Academy Wrestling
Championships and the basketball squad picking up its biggest win of
the season.
Behind second-place finishes from Dalton Henderson ’17 and
Neal Richards ’19, the Keydet grapplers took fourth place in the
team standings at the All-Academy championships held Jan. 29 in
Annapolis, Md. Two other wrestlers reached the podium, as John
Reed ’19 and Chris Beck ’20 turned in fourth-place efforts.
At 125 pounds, Henderson opened the tournament with a 6-0 decision over The Citadel’s Charles Kearney, and reached the finals with a
10-0 blanking of Brant Leadbeter of Navy. Henderson fell short in the
championship match, however, falling to Army’s Trey Chalifoux, 10-6.
Richards won his first match at 157 with a technical fall over Ben
Swanson of Norwich. Richards then slipped past Aaron Walker of
The Citadel, 5-2, before falling to Army’s Russ Parsons, 12-0, in the
championship bout.
After losing his first match at 141 pounds, Reed battled back in the
consolation bracket with a pin but fell to John Twoney of Air Force in
the third-place match. At 184, Beck also lost his opening bout, but he
reached the consolation final with a 3-2 decision before falling to Zen
Ikehara of Air Force.
The success at the All-Academy championships came on the heels of a
hard-fought loss to the Citadel Jan. 27 in Cormack Hall by a score of 19-16.
VMI wrestling faces off with the Citadel in a packed Cormack Hall on Jan.
27. – VMI Photo by Kelly Nye.
Armani Branch ’18 jumps for the hoop during VMI’s matchup against The
Citadel on Feb. 11 in Cameron Hall. The Keydets beat the Bulldogs 101 to
78. – VMI Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
The VMI wrestlers closed out the regular season with four dual
matches, including two at home: against Appalachian State Feb. 8 and
Sacred Heart Feb. 17. The Southern Conference tournament is scheduled for March 4 in Charleston, S.C.
The basketball team had five wins through January, none bigger
than its victory at Chattanooga Jan. 25.
Q.J. Peterson ’17 scored 40 points in that contest, and the Keydets
opened the second half with a big scoring outburst to defeat the Mocs,
80-64, and snap a 20-game losing streak at Chattanooga.
VMI trailed by two points at halftime but opened the final 20
minutes with an 18-3 run to pull away. Peterson scored 28 of his gamehigh 40 points in the second half, which saw the Keydets shoot over
77 percent from the floor and hit nine of 10 free throws in the last 1:30
to seal the victory.
Julian Eleby ’17 added 14 points to the VMI effort, while Armani
Branch ’18 chipped in with 13.
See Winter Sports, page 14
March 201711
‘Be Strong to Be Helpful in Mind and Body’
Modern Warriorship Course Strives to Inculcate Mental and Physical Fitness
By Mary Price
There are no gladiators or sword fights, yet the modern warriorship course that Maj. Matt Jarman, assistant professor of psychology,
is teaching this semester has its roots in ancient Rome – and more
specifically, a saying attributed to the Roman poet Juvenal: “A sound
mind in a sound body.”
Maj. Matt Jarman demonstrates a defensive move during his modern warriorship class. – VMI Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
In the case of Jarman’s class, cadets watch videos on topics such as
courage, fear, and stress, before discussing these topics in class. They
then move on to the heart of the matter: applying these psychological topics to physical training that combines functional movement
techniques such as climbing with combatives training, including how
to respond to weapons.
“Much of [the course] actually looks like a PE class,” Jarman noted.
In addition to the physical workout they get in class, the cadets are
required to spend 20 minutes each day meditating. Mental fitness,
Jarman believes, gets short shrift in modern life. “As a society we
tend to neglect the mental fitness component, or we tend to minimize
its importance,” he commented.
To that end, Jarman doesn’t cosset his cadets, either mentally or
physically. There are no chairs in the meeting area because sitting
on the floor is an intentional part of the class. It’s a purposeful discomfort, as is another assignment sure to bring shivers of dread for
some: taking a cold shower. Jarman explained that he’s eager for the
cadets to see that dread is a self-generated and self-inflicted emotion.
“That totally awful mental feeling [about taking a cold shower]
is being generated by your thoughts,” he commented. “Meditation
is about learning to let go of those thoughts. By doing that you gain
confidence in your ability to put yourself in challenging situations.”
In that vein, Jarman wants to be able to get cadets past another fear
when they come inside the new Corps Physical Training Facility to
use the high ropes course sometime this semester.
And when the semester is over, Jarman is hopeful that the cadets
will have found a new outlook on life, bolstered by new and healthy
habits. “From my perspective, warriorship is disciplined, regular
training, both mental and physical,” he commented. “Warriorship
should become habitual. If it’s habitual you don’t even have to exert
willpower. It’s just something you do.” Jarman’s class motto creates a purpose for striving toward that ideal: “Be strong to be helpful, in body and mind.” The class motto was
adapted from MovNat’s motto: “Be strong to be helpful.” Jarman is a
certified trainer for MovNat, a program that encourages participants
to utilize the entire range of human movements, including crawling,
carrying, jumping, running, and more.
Jarman brings a unique blend of personal and professional interests to the class, which is held in Cormack
Hall so the cadets can use the floor space there to learn
movement techniques. On the professional side, he does
research on meditation, which he describes as “one key
tool for mental fitness.”
Jarman described the purpose of the class as “mentally and physically preparing cadets to be of help to
others, whether in a military context or not.” Being of
help to others, he noted, is part of VMI’s ideal of the
citizen-soldier – and he felt that a new class might help
cadets grow into that ideal. “It didn’t seem like there was
much explicit mention of what [the citizen-soldier] was
and how to become one,” he stated.
The 19 cadets enrolled in the modern warriorship
course this semester learn via the flipped classroom
model, in which students read textbooks or watch
videos outside of class and then meet in the classroom to
Cadets practice holding their balance during the modern warriorship class. – VMI Photo by H.
discuss what they’ve learned.
Lockwood McLaughlin.
12
VMI Institute Report
Going Within
Meditation Sessions Improve Efficiency, Productivity for Faculty, Staff, and Cadets
The 2016-17 academic year has brought a new offering for VMI
12 to 12:40 p.m. in the projection room of Preston Library. He began
faculty and staff – twice-weekly meditation/mindfulness sessions, led
by taking a graduate school class on meditation and mindfulness more
by Maj. Matt Jarman, assistant professor of psychology, and Col. Holly
than 10 years ago, and his interest has grown from there. “I felt like it
Richardson, professor of physical education.
was what I’d been looking for in terms of mental training techniques,”
Jarman’s interest in meditation was what kick-started the sessions,
which are held on Mondays from 11 to 11:40 a.m. and Thursdays from
Jarman commented.
Jarman believes so strongly in the power of meditation to improve efficiency and productivity that he even teaches meditation techniques to
the cadets enrolled in his leadership courses. “I consider mental fitness
to be a key component of leadership,” he stated.
So far, the meditation sessions for faculty and staff have drawn a
small attendance, averaging two or three on Mondays and five or six
on Thursdays, but Jarman is hopeful that the numbers will increase
once the word spreads. He added that research has shown the benefits
of meditation for a number of common conditions, among them high
blood pressure, procrastination, stress, depression, and more.
For Jarman, the rewards of the practice more than outweigh the
time spent.
“If you stick with it for a little while, it will make you more effective
and efficient in just about everything you do – whether it’s a sport,
academic performance, etc.,” he noted. “It will also make these things
more enjoyable, not to mention all of the other health benefits found in
the research. So from my perspective, you have lots to gain and nothing
Col. Holly Richardson leads a meditation session in Preston Library. – VMI
Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
to lose.”
––Mary Price
20-Mile March
The rats and their dykes – first class mentors – march along Robinson Gap Road during
a 20-mile march on Jan. 22. The group departed for Buena Vista early that Sunday
morning to hike up to Robinson Gap and past the Blue Ridge Parkway. To see more
photos visit flickr.com/vmiphotos. – VMI Photos by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
March 201713
Inaugural Parade continued from page 1
“When you’re able to do those turns in a 15-man front and keep
your alignment, the straightaways are easy,” said Wanovich. “So you
just practice them over and over again on these turns and get the
Corps moving.”
Those practices were successful in large part thanks to the
Institute’s non-commissioned officers, including Sgt. Maj. John Neel,
who logged his fourth time preparing the Corps for a presidential
inaugural parade.
In a sense, the Corps has been preparing for this parade for years.
“You can’t invent that discipline in a day or a week. What you saw
that day is the culmination of lots and lots of discipline over years of
doing this,” said Wanovich. “It’s just a matter of bringing it all up to
speed and getting the Corps focused on this particular parade.”
The 15-wide battalion-sized formations of the inaugural parade differ considerably from the smaller company-sized formations cadets
usually execute. That change made it possible to mix up the Corps in
different ways.
“The Corps never formed up exactly the same way in practice.
Every time they practiced they were standing next to someone different,” Wanovich noted.
The purpose of that strategy was to encourage the Corps to operate cohesively.
“All these little barriers that come up at VMI – athletes and
non-athletes, commissioning and non-commissioning, this major
and that major, this company and that company – all those barriers
Cadets board one of the buses bound for Washington D.C. on the morning
of the presidential inauguration. – VMI Photo by Maj. John Robertson IV.
Winter Sports The Corps of Cadets practices on the Parade Ground for the presidential
inaugural parade on Jan. 17. – VMI Photo by Kelly Nye.
are erased. We blend you together and you operate as the Corps,”
said Wanovich.
Before any of the training could take place, however, staff from
across post worked many hours to overcome the logistical challenges
of getting the Corps to Washington. The application process began
several months ago, buses were booked far in advance, and personnel across post pitched in to register cadets for the parade over
Christmas furlough.
All that hard work paid off, and the response from the VMI community has been strong.
“I have received numerous messages from parents, alumni,
government and military leaders, and many others who were very
impressed by the professionalism of the young men and women of
the Corps of Cadets. They represented themselves and VMI so well
while the eyes of the world were upon them,” said superintendent
Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62. “The Corps was the finale of the parade,
and with good reason.”
For the cadets and staff, the pride goes deeper than the pageantry
of the parade.
“What I see is that we operated focused on one goal. They represented themselves as the Corps of Cadets, and they represented us
as a school to the president of the United States in front of a national
audience,” said Wanovich. “The cadets stayed true to the mission
of doing the parade as well as they could. When they did that, they
looked magnificent. They looked damn near perfect.” continued from page 11
The Keydets faced the Bulldogs in Cameron Hall Feb. 11 before a
packed house. VMI pulled away after halftime, winning 101-78.
The men’s and women’s swimming teams competed for the final
time during the regular season Jan. 28, with both teams dropping
dual meets to host William and Mary. The squads competed in the
CCSA Championships Feb. 15-18 in Athens, Ga.
Meanwhile, the Institute’s spring sports teams are beginning their
seasons on the road .
Baseball season opened Feb. 17 as the Keydets played four games
in Wilmington, N.C. The water polo squads opened with four games
Feb. 18-19 in Erie, Pa., and the lacrosse teams faced off for the first
time in 2017 at Army Feb. 20. Subscribe to the Institute Report online – www.vmi.edu/InstituteReport
14
VMI Institute Report
VMI Band Shines in the Spotlight
Members of the VMI band have been traveling extensively in the first
weeks of the semester, acting as ambassadors from the Institute and
connecting with alumni across the country.
Their most prominent performance, seen around the world, was their
participation in the presidential inaugural parade along with the entire
Corps of Cadets.
Marching between the Corps’ two battalions, members of VMI’s
Regimental Band and Pipe Band brought the parade to a close with a
rendition of “Shenandoah” as they passed the reviewing stand Jan. 20.
“The cadets outdid themselves. It’s a really long day for a minute of
glory,” said Col. John Brodie, music director. “You prep so long for it, and
you’re on the national stage for about a minute, but it was worth it. I’ve
had an overwhelming number of emails and an outpouring of alumni reaction.”
For those who make up the Commanders Jazz Band, the inauguration
was followed closely by a trip to Connecticut Jan. 27-29, where they
were hosted by Steve Nezas ‘89.
The Commanders Jazz Band offers an old yell with Howard Hoover ‘43
front and center at a concert in Connecticut benefiting the families of
fallen troops. – Photo Courtesy of Col. John Brodie.
“We played at an American Legion lodge, and it was sold out,” said
Brodie. “We raised over a couple grand for families of service people
who’ve been killed.”
This will be the band’s fourth time participating in Mobile’s Mardi Gras
festivities. The city lays claim to the oldest annual Mardi Gras celebration
The commanders also performed a benefit concert in Richmond Feb.
11, which benefited the Richmond SPCA.
in the United States.
“That’s a huge trip. We’re taking 130 cadets down to Mobile and back,”
The band’s next big performances will take place during Mardi Gras,
said Brodie. “We’re marching in two parades, and performing in two
for which the band will travel to Mobile, Alabama, Feb. 24-27 aboard
balls. It’s going to be a blast.”
C-17 aircraft.
––Maj. John Robertson IV
Post Facilities Master Plan Update
By Kelly Nye
With the Corps Physical Training Facility
complete, it is time for VMI to look ahead to its
next projects. And though there are no new
buildings in the immediate future, a couple of
current ones, Preston Library and Scott Shipp
Hall, will see the upgrades they need.
The projects are outlined in the 2017 update
of the Post Facilities Master Plan, approved on
Jan. 28 by the Board of Visitors, which can be
downloaded at www.vmi.edu/planning.
Though most of the changes this year focus on the completion of last year’s projects,
like the CPTF, there is one noticeable change
in future plans. An aquatic training facility,
an original part of the Vision 2039 plan, is
finally in the early stages of planning.
“We’re investigating three different
locations,” explained Institute planning
officer Col. Dale Brown. “Once we focus on a
location, then they’ll do some concepts, then
they’ll put a price tag on it.”
In the meantime, the state has approved
funding for three major projects on post.
One is an overhaul of post infrastructure,
including utility systems, heating, roads, and
sidewalks. The other two are renovations to
Preston Library, and a renovation and expansion of Scott Shipp Hall.
The Preston Library renovations will
revitalize the functions of the space for
contemporary academics. An architect and a
construction manager have been hired for the
project. Cadets will have access to more electronic media and reading material. As Brown
pointed out over the years, “the functions in
the library have changed dramatically.”
Though an architect and a construction
manager have not been hired for the Scott
Shipp renovation and addition yet, Brown
is certain the project will address design
flaws, and make room for the growing Corps
of Cadets.
The time frame for these projects will
depend on how quickly the state can fund
them. Ideally Preston Library and Scott Shipp
Hall will not be under construction at the
same time.
“Our intention is to not necessarily have them
both going on at the same time but that’s something to be determined… I think it’s going to be
difficult for VMI to have two academic buildings down at the same time,” said Brown. March 201715
Milley, Ginsburg Speak in Cameron Hall
By Mary Price
The future is unknowable, but two speakers at VMI earlier this
month said that the Institute’s ability – and that of its graduates – to
adapt to change is a strength that the nation needs.
On Wednesday, Feb. 8, Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Army chief of staff,
addressed the Corps of Cadets in Cameron Hall. Milley, a four-star
general who has served as chief of staff since August 2015, told the
cadets that they must learn from historical events, but be prepared
to enter a world in which the character of war – the how, when, and
where – will be changing dramatically in the coming decades.
In discussing military history, Milley impressed upon his listeners
how much inspiration he draws from the example of Gen. George
C. Marshall, VMI Class of 1901. Marshall held the same position as
Milley – U.S. Army chief of staff – during World War II.
“[Marshall] is the finest military officer that America has ever
produced,” the 37-year career Army officer stated, adding that he
keeps a portrait of Marshall over his desk. “World War II would
not have been won without a VMI graduate by the name of George
C. Marshall.”
Milley reminded his listeners that while Marshall is long deceased,
the need for visionary leadership is ongoing. “Somewhere in this
audience is the next George Marshall,” Milley declared. “One of you
is going to step into his shoes …All of you in one way or the other will
lead our nation into the future.”
After discussing the lessons of history, Milley shared with his
listeners what he believes to be a most urgent lesson going forward:
the need to prepare for a massive shift in how warfare is conducted.
“The character of war… the ways and means of war… is, in my mind,
about to undergo fundamental, profound, and significant change in
the next 10 to 15 or so years.”
Milley observed that technology will play a leading role in this
change, as there are already more Internet-connected devices than
there are people. “You will be able to be tracked and observed,”
Milley stated. “The proliferation of information technology is diffusing power.”
Robots, too, will eliminate entire job categories, Milley believes,
and will make their presence known on the battlefield as well. “The
time will come when robots will have widespread use in the conduct
of ground war,” Milley predicted.
The “where” of war will also change, the general said.
Urbanization will bring war to cities more often – a sharp contrast
after hundreds of years of fighting in farm fields and rural areas.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg answers a question from her
biographers Mary Hartnett and Wendy Williams during an on-stage interview in Cameron Hall on Feb. 1. – VMI Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
16
“Guys like Gen. Peay and myself will not even recognize the
battlefield that you fight on in 2035 or 2050,” Milley predicted. “In the
past, changes in the character of war, the elements, were all evident
prior to that war. … People couldn’t connect the dots. They couldn’t
anticipate. It’s our collective task to do better.”
A week prior to Milley’s talk, on Feb. 1, U.S. Supreme Court
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke on the court decision she authored 21 years ago that allowed women to attend VMI.
Ginsburg’s talk took the form of a question-and-answer session
with Mary Hartnett and Wendy Williams, co-authors of Ginsburg’s
recently released biography, My Own Words.
The decision required VMI to adapt, and, she said, VMI has adapted well as indicated by its successes in the two decades since female
cadets first matriculated.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley stops during a tour of barracks to
greet cadets after his speech in Cameron Hall on Feb. 8. – VMI Photo by H.
Lockwood McLaughlin.
When asked to give a brief background on the VMI case, which
was titled United States v. Virginia, Ginsburg explained that deciding
that case was eased by the presence of another, previously decided
case, Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan.
In that case, which was decided in 1982, the Supreme Court held in
a 5-4 decision that the Mississippi University for Women could not
discriminate against a male applicant seeking a nursing degree. The
majority opinion was written by the first woman ever to serve on the
Supreme Court, the now-retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
“Both cases made the same point: that government can’t prefer men
or prefer women for an opportunity,” said Ginsburg. “All doors must
be open to our sons and daughters. They will choose to walk through
those doors if they have the will and the talent to do so.”
Ginsburg also noted that the service academies had admitted women long before United States v. Virginia made its way to the nation’s
highest court – and their continued success boded well for VMI. “We
were able to see the military academies were alive and well, it was
easy to predict that the same would happen at VMI. … I knew [coeducation] would make VMI a better place.”
The Feb. 1 talk was Ginsburg’s first appearance at VMI. VMI Institute Report
Planners Turn Focus to South River Bridge
By Kelly Nye
Since the VMI Foundation
best interests in
gifted the Chessie Nature Trail
mind, the committo the Institute in 2010, VMI has
tee comes up with
worked with the community
ideas and Williams
to ensure the Chessie Nature
integrates those
Trail is maintained and even enideas into VMI’s
hanced as an outdoor resource
master plan.
for cadets and members of
“This reestablishthe community.
ment of the bridge
At the moment, the biggest
will allow a complete
challenge in that effort is the
connection between
absence of the South River
Lexington and Buena
Bridge – a situation the Institute
Vista, making it a
is working to remedy.
safe trail for all peoVMI has submitted a grant
ple who are using it,”
through the Eastern Federal
said Williams.
Lands Access program for
What was once
$250,000 to design the bridge.
the path for the
Total cost of the construction of
Chesapeake and Ohio
The ruins of the South River Bridge represent a break in the continuity of the Chessie Nature
the bridge is still unknown but
railway, the Chessie
Trail. – VMI Photo by Maj. John Robertson IV.
it is estimated that it will cost a
Trail is named for
little over one million dollars.
the company’s masTo make the complete 7.2-mile journey from the Lexington end of
cot the Chessie Cat. The trail – which follows the course of the Maury
the trail to the Buena Vista end, users must take a quarter-mile deRiver – is mostly flat and shaded with parts of it winding through
tour around the site of the old South River Bridge. Hurricane Isabel
private property and cow pastures. It is a perfect path for walking,
eliminated that bridge in 2003 and it has never been replaced.
running, cycling, and marching.
Once a new bridge is complete, planners envision the trail be“It’s kind of a destination,” said Capt. Aaron Groah, project mancoming an even greater draw for outdoor enthusiasts from across
ager. Groah is the Physical Plant lead engineer on the coordination
the region.
effort between the Friends of the Chessie Trail and VMI.
“The trail is already a huge attraction for Rockbridge County,”
Last fall when the Friends of the Chessie Nature Trail hosted a
said Col. Jay Williams ’83, post engineer. Williams chairs the Chessie
half marathon and 5K, VMI’s Physical Plant crew reconditioned the
Trail Advisory Committee, which brings VMI together with the local trail in preparation for the event. Improvements included laying
group Friends of the Chessie Trail and landowners with property
fresh gravel and building handrails on one of the bridges. More than
adjacent to the trail.
300 racers showed up for the event, many of them from out of state,
The main objective of the advisory committee is maintaining and
further strengthening the importance of maintaining the trail as an
making improvements to the trail. With VMI and the community’s
attraction to the community.
More enhancements are also on the way. There is a $330,000 grant
that will fund improvements all along the trail. That includes a
26-space parking lot on the Lexington end of the trail near the East
Lexington Bridge, and better signs to lead visitors to the trailheads.
On a larger scale there is also an effort led by Lexington and the
Rockbridge Area Tourism office to connect the Chessie Trail to other
area trails. The hope is to attract visitors to the Rockbridge area by
developing a greenway that connects Brushy Hill Preserve, west of
Lexington, to the mountains east of Buena Vista. Both the Woods
Creek Trail and the Chessie Trail would play essential roles in
that connection.
More trail users bring more business to Lexington and Buena
Vista, and VMI, a school that makes physical fitness a top priority,
understands that the trail is not just about attracting outsiders, it
is also about offering community residents the outdoor space for
healthy physical activity.
Once the site of a storage building, this area off of Old Buena Vista Road will
As Williams said, “The trail is a huge attraction… it’s recreation for
be a 26-space parking lot for the trail head of the Chessie Nature Trail. – VMI
folks with pets, serious runners, casual runners, cyclists, the works.” Photo by Kelly Nye.
March 201717
Field Work Puts Cadets in the Community
By Mary Price
An English major’s life has traditionally
been spent indoors, reading books and doing
research in libraries, but last fall seven
cadets majoring in English, rhetoric, and
humanistic studies found themselves most
decidedly outdoors as they undertook a field
work project centered on the Chessie Trail, a
7.5-mile trail owned by VMI.
Under the guidance of Maj. Stephanie
Hodde, assistant professor of English,
rhetoric, and humanistic studies, the cadets
chose a research and writing project that involved not only the trail itself, an abandoned
railroad bed linking the cities of Buena Vista
and Lexington, but also community partners interested in trail stewardship, among
them the Friends of the Chessie Trail and the
Lexington Tourism Bureau. Hodde christened the project, “A Trail for All Reasons.”
Field work, a relatively new requirement
for cadets majoring in English, rhetoric, and
humanistic studies, is meant to help cadets
put to use what they’ve learned in the classroom, while at the same time build relationships with members of the wider Rockbridge
area community.
“[Field work] is an opportunity for [cadets] to apply what they’ve learned in their
Kerisha Goode ’18 and Greg Henderson ’17
take photos to document 2016 Chessie Trail
Half Marathon and 5K. – Photo courtesy of Maj.
Stephanie Hodde.
18
courses and learn
more in the process
as they apply their
learning,” said Col.
Emily Miller, chair
of the Department
of English,
Rhetoric, and
Humanistic Studies.
“Field work in the
humanities and arts
is involving cultural and rhetorical
conversations about
what’s going on
in communities,”
explained Hodde.
Maj. Stephanie Hodde and English, rhetoric and humanistic studies majors
“We wanted to give
take a break from doing field work on the Chessie Nature Trail for a photo. –
[the cadets] public
Photo courtesy of Maj. Stephanie Hodde.
writing assignments
that involved community concerns.”
“I really did have a good time,” she said. “I
To that end, Kerisha Goode ’18, a member
loved working with the people I was workof the Keydet track and field team, found
ing with.”
herself redesigning the Friends of the
Goode also found herself seeing the trail
Chessie Trail’s website to make the site more
from the perspective of a cross-country runappealing to runners.
ner. “[The field work course] broadened my
“My idea was to get a runner’s perspecperspective, not just on the nature thing but
tive on the Chessie Trail,” said Goode. She’d
also about running in general,” she stated.
already discovered that the Friends of the
“I’m a runner, just not a trail runner.”
Chessie Trail’s website emphasized hiking
Like Goode, Alex Hill ’18 wasn’t so sure
over other activities and begun to wonder if
about the Chessie Trail focus when she
that shouldn’t be changed, especially in light
first started out. Environmentalism “isn’t
of the inaugural half marathon and 5K that
really my thing,” she noted, but inspiration
the Friends held on the trail in mid-October.
suddenly struck one day when she was in Lt.
“Why don’t we expand on that?” Goode
Col. Glenn Sullivan’s psychology course on
wondered. “People use the trail for more
the suicidal mind. Sullivan was discussing
than just hiking.”
ecotherapy, which uses nature as a source of
With the group’s permission, which was
stress relief, and at that point, Hill realized
easily granted, Goode soon found herself in
that she had a chance to change cadets’ perthe role of webmaster – and with about 15
ceptions of the Chessie Trail.
hours of time put in, the job was done.
“It’s almost a unanimous idea here that
Goode admitted that while she was pleased people don’t like the Chessie Trail,” she said,
with the outcome of her project, just getting
adding that the dislike is rooted in having
going was a struggle. When she first entered
to march and run on the trail so much as
Hodde’s class and discovered that the Chessie 4th Class cadets. Changing that perception
Trail would be the focus, it was all she could
would be difficult, Hill knew, but she was
do to stifle a groan.
willing to give it a try.
“I learned to work with a topic that I had
After much thought, Hill got in touch with
no interest in at first,” she acknowledged.
the cadet peer educators, a group of cadets
“Nature wasn’t my thing … Bugs, mud—I’m a
specially trained by the Center for Cadet
city girl!”
Counseling to assist their fellow cadets
Nevertheless, Goode is glad she stuck
with stress-related concerns, and decided to
out what seemed at first to be an unpleascreate posters promoting the Chessie Trail
ant assignment.
as a place to relax. The posters will go up on
VMI Institute Report
the backs of the doors of toilet stalls around
post in April and May—when the weather
is warming up and, coincidentally, cadets’
stress levels tend to be rising as well.
“I knew I wanted to focus on the VMI cadets,” said Hill. “We’re the most stressed-out
people in this area.”
As a result of her work, Hill found her own
relationship with the trail undergoing an
evolution. Before the field work class, “I hated
the Chessie Trail just as much as everyone
else,” she stated. That changed, though, when,
Hodde gave her cadets a simple assignment:
walk, look, and listen on the trail.
The listening walk “was very cleansing to
me,” Hill explained.
“People’s perceptions of the Chessie are
distorted. … “I’m hoping that people will get
out on the trail and see how beautiful it is.”
For Hodde, changes like those that Goode
and Hill experienced are proof that field
work is making an impact on the cadets themselves.
“One of those most foundational things
that needs to happen in a fieldwork course
is that [the students] actually make a
meaningful connection to their project,”
Hodde stated.
But the connections didn’t stop there.
“[The cadets] actually encouraged the
institutions themselves,” Hodde continued.
“I don’t know if the Friends of the Chessie
Trail would have redone their website
anytime soon without a push from Kerisha
Goode. … Having that energy from the
class helped the boards of those organizations and the institutional stakeholders
get excited.”
Forging those connections between the
Institute and the wider community is at the
heart of the field work experience, Hodde
believes –and it’s not something that needs
to be limited to any particular department.
“Field work is really a springboard for
service learning [on post],” she stated. “I’m
hoping that the course will help develop
interdisciplinary conversations about community work in Rockbridge County.”
The spring field work class is continuing the year-long focus on environmental
stewardship, with some cadets helping to
further an oral history project undertaken
by Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland
Garden. Other cadets will be working with
the Rockbridge Historical Society and the
City of Lexington, among other organizations. Volunteers Enhance the Jackson House Experience
By Mary Price
Changes are being planned as the March 1 season opening approaches at the Stonewall Jackson House. Those physical changes, to
be completed later this year, will create more room for interpretive
space in the Jackson House and will provide improved amenities
housed in the neighboring Davidson-Tucker House.
One thing will that remain the same, however, is how much the
staff relies on the volunteers who give countless hours of their time
to make sure visitors have the best experience possible.
Approximately 60 people currently volunteer at the Stonewall
Jackson House in capacities ranging from gardener to shop clerk to
tour guide. The house held its most recent volunteer orientation Feb.
16, and new volunteers are always welcome
The volunteers are so crucial, new site director Grace Abele notes,
that without them, the house would not be open to visitors.
“Without the dedicated service of our volunteers, the Stonewall
Jackson House would not exist,” said Abele. “They bring with them a
lifetime of experience that allows them to successfully educate, entertain, and serve the public. I consider myself blessed to work with
such a remarkable group of people from all walks of life.”
Those who currently volunteer at the Stonewall Jackson House,
which is owned by VMI, say that they most enjoy meeting new people, serving the community, and learning more about Lexington and
its citizens on the eve of the Civil War.
“I enjoy meeting with other volunteers and making new friends
with people who appreciate history as I do,” said Mac Lynch, who’s
been a volunteer since 2014. “I also enjoy meeting the visitors who
come from all over the world. No two tours are the same: some visitors know more about Jackson than I do, and others are barely aware
of him. I am challenged to gear my tour to the knowledge level and
interests of the visitors.”
Like Lynch, Lavonne Demsky enjoys meeting new people. “We
get to meet so many people that are interested in learning about
Stonewall Jackson the man – how he wanted to have a home and a
Tamara Teaff, a volunteer at the Stonewall Jackson House, leads visitors
through Jackson’s kitchen. – VMI File Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
family of his own.” She also emphasized how much she’s liked getting
to know the staff and the other docents. “I feel that I’ve made many
friends,” Demsky said.
The Jackson House continues to serve as a center around which
VMI’s ties with the community are strengthened.
Another volunteer, Tamara Teaff, said, “One of the most fulfilling
aspects of volunteering is becoming part of the Stonewall Jackson
House ‘family.’ The museum staff treats each volunteer with respect
and offers sincere appreciation for the contributions of the volunteer’s time and specific talents. Volunteers are valued as a contributing part of the museum community.” March 201719
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Navy ROTC Cadets Pick Their Ship Assignments
Information Provided by Naval ROTC
Seven Virginia Military Institute Navy ROTC 1st Class cadets
selected their ship assignments the week of Feb. 13. During ship
selection, 1st Class cadets assigned to the surface warfare community choose their first ship and home port. Other than commissioning, it is the single biggest moment in their time at VMI and a
unique experience.
The cadets Overall Order of Merit is used to organize the order
for selection. Overall Order of Merit takes into account cadets’
academic, military, and athletic performance. The seven cadets
who selected their ship assignments were Kristen Whitehurst
’17, Stephen Bernard ’17, Andrew Kelly ’17, William Cornett ’17,
Angelique Barlow ’17, Clyde Crone ’17, and Nicolette Huntley ’17.
At the end of March, Navy cadets will travel to the Norfolk
Naval Yard for spring field training exercises. There they will
tour surface ship and submarine platforms and to engage with
sailors currently in the fleet. This gives the cadets a good foundation for what to expect when they report to their first ship.
Marine Corps ROTC members are conducting inventory physical fitness tests, running the endurance course, and planning for
their field training exercises. They will head to Natural Bridge and
will run cadets through courses of fire on the range.
The staff for Marine-option cadets recognized Samuel Trepp
’20, who was recently selected for a scholarship. The process to
obtain a scholarship is competitive and requires high marks in
20
Naval ROTC cadets and staff pose in front of barracks. Seven 1 st Class
cadets have selected their ship assignments. – VMI File Photo by Kelly Nye.
three tenets stressed at VMI: academics, physical fitness, and
military aptitude.
The 1st Class cadets of both Navy and Marine Corps ROTC detachments will be attending a Navy Dining-In this spring. In holding
with a time-honored tradition, they will “dip” their ensign or second lieutenant bars, and, in doing so, grow closer as a class as they
prepare to commission into the fleet. They will be dipping their
bars in water from the seven seas and in sand from Iwo Jima. VMI Institute Report
March 2017