Gov. Glenn Youngkin largely avoided politics Tuesday as he spoke to just over 300 new graduates of the Virginia Military Institute, a campus that has been overshadowed by controversy in recent years, including in recent weeks.
In a speech that focused on the values instilled in cadets at the state-supported military college, Youngkin called for VMI’s mission to guide graduates into careers in the military or private sector.
“You live by a code,” Youngkin said. “A code that incorporates words like integrity, character, respect. A code that opposes prejudice, hatred and oppression.”
The governor’s speech was marked by frequent bursts of applause.
Youngkin visited the campus two weeks ago to visit the cadets and prepare for his commencement speech.
But it was a speech by one of his appointees just days before that visit that drew critical attention back to the campus, after years of scrutiny over reports of systemic racism.
On April 21, Youngkin’s chief diversity officer, Martin Brown, stated in a speech at VMI that “I [diversity, equity, and inclusion] is dead.”
In accordance with a Washington Post report and video of the speech, Brown said, “We’re not going to raise that cow anymore. It’s dead. It was ordered by the General Assembly, but this governor has a different philosophy of civil discourse, civility, dealing: living the golden rule, right?
Several groups have called for Brown’s resignation, including the Virginia NAACP and the state’s black and Latino legislative caucuses. Former Gov. Doug Wilder has also ccalled for Brown to resign.
Youngkin’s predecessor, Gov. Ralph Northam, ordered an investigation into claims of racist and sexist practices embedded in the school’s culture. following reports of discrimination in 2020. VMI has since worked to implement DEI training, a concept Youngkin has generally opposed since taking over in early 2022. Under Youngkin’s command, the state now refers to DEI as “diversity, opportunity and inclusion” or DOI.
The state university has seen an administrative overhaul and worked to implement diversity training, which has struck a chord with segments of the alumni base who say the need for change at VMI is overblown.
Of VMI’s 1,500 students for the 2022-2023 school year, fewer than 400 were nonwhite, according to state data. The school has struggled to release enrollment numbers in recent years and its alumni office missed its recent fundraising goals by a significant margin.
The Class of 2023 endured a dual challenge, with the investigation of campus culture concurrent with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This class is unlike any other,” Youngkin said. “You have endured the pandemic. You have dealt with distractions that were not of your own making.”
He also claimed to be the cadets’ favorite governor, partly because during his visit a few weeks ago he granted them amnesty for some minor infractions they had accumulated.
In a speech focused on the values instilled in cadets, Gov. Glenn Younkin called for VMI’s mission to guide graduates into careers in the military or private sector. “You live by a code,” he said. “A code that incorporates words like integrity, character, respect. A code that stands against prejudice, hatred and oppression.” Behind the governor is the school’s Class of 2026. Photo by Lisa Rowan.
The class, which began with 515 students four years ago, is completing its time at VMI with 53 percent going into commissioned military service, in all branches, including the Space Force.
Perhaps the governor’s most outwardly political statement came when Youngkin pointed to four graduates from the class who will be serving in the military in Taiwan. These graduates, he said, are “prepared to defend your home against the oppression of the People’s Republic of China. Please know that we are with you.”
Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, who also spoke, is the school’s first black superintendent. He took over in the spring of 2021, succeeding Gen. JH Binford Peay, who resigned in the fall of 2020. Wins also avoided directly addressing the school’s struggles, instead noting that the corps “is in a solid foundation.”
“One of the things I would like you to take with you when you graduate is my memory of the upheaval about our culture that was imposed on the whole body, and my message to you upon my arrival,” he said. say Wins. “These challenges were never about you. … However, I asked you to maintain the narrative and let people see who you really are as cadets of character who embody an oath that few universities could come close to fulfilling. you did so magnificently.”
Among the accolades shared with graduates and their families today, Youngkin singled out The Cadet newspaper, which received seven awards from the Virginia Press Association earlier this month. The awards included the group’s top annual award for journalistic integrity and public service.
The paper, which was revived in 2021 with the assistance of an alumnus who recently sued the university over a DEI-related contract, featured a content package on diversity, equity and inclusion that included op-eds not signed The newspaper is not sanctioned by the school and the newspaper’s parent foundation has launched a campaign solicit alumni donations outside of official alumni fundraising efforts.
But the focus on the student newspaper was short-lived, as Youngkin quickly turned his attention to meals at VMI’s Crozet Hall. The governor said he had heard adamantly from the cadets that the canteen menu had improved and congratulated the campus canteen management for their achievements, amid cheers and laughter from the crowd.
