VMI Superintendent Cedric T. Wins intends to serve out the remainder of his term, in the face of the move last week by the school’s MAGA-majority Board of Visitors to not renew the contract of the 1985 alum and retired US Army major general.
“For now, I remain – not simply the superintendent whose contract will expire – but a leader steering VMI through these tough times and building a solid foundation for future excellence. I remain committed to serving this Institute and guiding its cadets until my tenure ends,” said Wins, the first Black superintendent at VMI, which was founded in 1839.
Wins was appointed interim superintendent in 2020 amidst a controversy sparked by reporting from The Washington Post about “a lynching threat and other anecdotes from Black students alleging bigotry on the campus in Lexington.”
A then-Democrat-majority Board of Visitors voted in 2021 to give Wins the superintendent job on a full-time basis.
MAGA Republican Glenn Youngkin’s surprise win in the 2021 gubernatorial election put the push from the BOV and Wins to address what a state-commissioned report called a “racist and sexist culture” at the school against a changing political backdrop.
Youngkin 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.
Both voted with the 10-6 majority against the extension of Wins’s four-year contract, which is set to expire on June 30.
ICYMI
The use of the emergency-appointment process suggests there was a hurry up and fire the Black guy element to the Board of Visitors vote.
“This decision was not based on my performance or the tangible progress we achieved. It is the result of a partisan choice that abandons the values of honor, integrity and excellence upon which VMI was built,” Wins said in a statement released on Thursday.
More from the Wins statement:
“My 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.”
“I urge the Corps of Cadets, alumni, faculty and all supporters who know its value to join me in safeguarding VMI. We must proactively commit to giving valor and right action precedence over ideology and political expediency. Cadets and alumni should embody our timeless values of honor, integrity and excellence, regardless of their appearance, origin and identity. Our future depends on it.”
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Chris Graham
