A group spearheaded by VMI alums is leading an effort to get a “full and immediate explanation” from the school’s Board of Visitors as to why it voted against extending the contract of Superintendent Cedric T. Wins.
“This decision, made in a hastily scheduled, closed-door session with less than four days notice thereby limiting the opportunity for public input, and without transparency or explanation, has sent shockwaves through the VMI community and raises serious concerns about the motives behind this abrupt and unjustifiable action,” an open letter from In Alma Mater’s Name, which describes itself as a “nonpartisan, non-political community dedicated to preserving the traditions, values, and excellence of the Virginia Military Institute.”
- Sign the open letter: Click here
The name of the group refers to the opening line of the VMI fight song, “VMI Spirit,” which begins:
Oh, clear the way VMI is out today
We’re here to win this game
Our team will bring us fame
In Alma Mater’s name
The VMI Board of Visitors voted last week against extending the contract of Wins, a 1985 VMI alum and the only Black superintendent in the school’s 186-year history, basically without comment, other than a mealy-mouthed, PR-focused statement from the Board’s president, John Adams, noting that the “BOV is supremely grateful to Major General Wins for his service to the Institute during some very difficult times,” and that “the foundation he has provided us will ensure VMI continues to fulfill its vital mission of educating future leaders.”
Wins was a target of MAGA Republicans because of, well, one, his race, and two, he led efforts to build diversity in the school’s student and faculty populations, and to move the Institute past its odd affinity for the Confederacy.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, his eyes on a bigger political prize down the road, used his appointment power to slowly build a MAGA majority on the Board of Visitors, putting the final two pieces in place early last week, using the emergency-appointment process to install two new members – 1984 VMI alum Stephen G. Reardon of Richmond, an attorney with Spotts Fain and a small-potatoes Republican donor, and Jonathan Hartsock, a 2000 alum of VMI, who served as the school’s deputy commandant before joining the office staff of Sixth District MAGA Congressman Ben Cline in the summer of 2023.
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Both voted with the 10-6 majority against the extension of Wins’s four-year contract, which is set to expire on June 30.
Wins, in his first public comments on his pending ouster, said his tenure will end “because bias, emotion and ideology, rather than sound emotion, swayed the board.”
“Their actions undermine the rich legacy of VMI for political gain. Instead of advancing this school from a crucible for principled leaders rooted in our values and a training ground that finds worth in cadets from diverse backgrounds, we risk returning to an obsessive focus on our distant past, believing it will produce tomorrow’s leaders of character. I believe their choice to subject cadets to a cycle of politization is malfeasance that endangers VMI and the future of our nation,” Wins said.
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Chris Graham
