VMI Continues Its DEI March

West Point has announced that, in compliance with the President's EO, it had disbanded a dozen DEI related "cadet clubs centered on ethnicity, gender, race and sexuality." More disbandments may follow. While such clubs may well be used for legitimate purposes, they also tend to be used to overtly or covertly further the aims of people and organizations bent on sowing DEI derived division and distrust, and should not be allowed to exist on the taxpayers' dime.

All US colleges and universities should take heed.? All rely to varying degrees on federal support, and, while some may well survive without direct federal dollars, such support can also include tax breaks, scholarships, and other types of support.? A large number have federal contracts and integrated federal programs such as various ROTC programs.

All may now be at risk if they fail to purge DEI from their systems.

A case in point is the Virginia Military Institute.? VMI relies heavily on federal support, most notably via scholarships, grants, and its Army, Navy, and Air Force ROTC programs.? Despite all this, the current VMI Administration continues to promote DEI related personnel, policies, training, and organizations.?

When Governor Youngkin demanded state colleges eliminate their DEI organizations and policies several years ago, VMI, instead of complying, merely changed the name and some of the more overt/objectionable DEI language.? Its new name DOI – diversity, opportunity, and inclusion, fooled few.? The old DEI structures stayed in place and many of the same faculty and staff DEI advocates remained in power.? VMI policies are even now blatantly pro-DEI.? For example:

According to the current VMI website, “the Inclusive Excellence Committee will guide and hold the Institute accountable for maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment for learning and working.”

>> “ . . .? we were very careful to reach out to respected organizations to understand their DOI programs and strove to make sure our programs aligned with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusivity program; VMI’s mission and leader development system; BOV Executive Committee objectives; the Department of Defense Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan 2022–23; the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Position Statement; and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Inclusion Statement.”

All well & good, but note the referenced DoD plan, and the SACSCOC and the NCAA statements all provide guidance for the implementation of DEI – not any somehow different DOI. They clearly equate, in the above paragraph, DOI (the new name) with DEI.

The current VMI Administration has and continues to make much of their “One Corps – One VMI “ plan.? Note, however, the following from the plan – still posted and referenced on the VMI website:

>> “Establish a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program with a Chief Diversity Officer, directly reporting to the Superintendent and informed by other similar state and national entities and efforts;”

>> “Continue mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion education for the entire Corps of Cadets, faculty, and staff.”

>> “Upgrade a VMI experience that leverages more Diversity, Equity and Inclusion . . .”

>> “Advancing towards a culture which is diverse, equitable and inclusive with its own accountability means upgrading the VMI Experience. Modernizing VMI commences with building a Cadet governed system of diversity, equity and inclusion, and ends when a culture emerges where racism, prejudice, and hatred of any kind is not tolerated. Steps along the way are:

>>> An accountable Cadet leadership and governance which self-corrects and resolves any acts or inferences of racism, sexism, and harassment;

>>> Review and update VMI’s organization and functions to improve the Institute’s ability to achieve VMI’s outcomes;

>>> Review VMI’s policies, procedures, plans, and goals to verify incorporation of diversity, equity, and inclusivity;

>>> Continue a culture where racism, prejudice, and hatred of any kind is not tolerated or embodied as attributes of a VMI Cadet and graduate.”

In short, the purpose of the One Corps – One VMI plan is nothing short of a roadmap for the recreation of VMI into a DEI centric institution – and it remains in effect!

Moreover, with the possible exception of the departure of Jamica Love as the first Chief Diversity Officer, all VMI’s senior DEI leaders remain.? Jamica Love’s deputy is now the Chief Diversity Officer and, as, perhaps, DEI’s chief champion at VMI, so does Col Tinni Sen.? Again, from VMI’s website, as regards Col Sen:

>> "Professor of Economics, Department of Economics and Business, Virginia Military Institute (VMI).? 2011- present

>> Chair, Inaugural Faculty Working Group on DE&I. ?Convened and led faculty efforts to examine systemic and personal racial biases in VMI’s academic program. Liaised with the dean of faculty.? Served as an institutional change agent, leading faculty efforts to address the racist legacies of the Lost Cause mythology on campus. Liaised with VMI’s Superintendent (President) and Board of Visitors.? Result: For the first time in VMI’s history, faculty have been appointed to VMI’s Board of Visitors to three important committees: The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, the Commemorations and Memorials Naming and Review committee, and the Superintendent Search Committee.? June 2020 – Aug 2021,

>> Inclusive Excellence Committee.? “guide and hold the Institute accountable for integrating the Inclusive Excellence-One VMI Strategic Plan in all aspects of the work at VMI.”? 2021-present

>> Co-Chair, VMI’s Faculty Handbook Committee.? Appointed by VMI’s Superintendent (President). Leading the first comprehensive review of VMI’s faculty handbook in sixteen years. One of only three non-administrative personnel on that committee.? Responsible for revising and crafting policies that affect faculty directly and in the broader context of a United States Senior Military College.? 2018-present"

Col Sen also serves as the “Faculty Co-advisor, VMI’s Promaji club.? Mentored, advised, and advocated for students in VMI’s only club for students of color and their allies, an especially delicate and important task in this time of public attention to VMI’s reckoning with systemic biases.? Summer 2020 –present.” Which appears to be the only allowed VMI club, as with the just disbanded West Point clubs, “centered on ethnicity, gender, race and sexuality.”

Having such a DEI champion controlling and/or involved in so many key positions, as well as, no doubt, daily interacting with cadets, seems an undeniable indicator of how serious VMI is with regards to DEI.

Indeed, even the VMI Board of Visitors (appointed by Virginia’s Governor) is, at best, complacent, in its rejection, per the Governor’s direction, of DEI.? In its latest Annual Report, “RD131 - Annual Report to the Virginia General Assembly of the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors for 2023, Published: 2024, the report says “The Board’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts continued to be supported by its Inclusive Excellence Committee.” ?

In short, it appears that the Virginia Military Institute, supported by their Board of Visitors, is still, despite a few hollow words to the contrary, fully supportive of DEI.? However, now that the President and federal organizations are finally ridding themselves of DEI, perhaps VMI and its Board will do likewise – even if forced to do so only when faced with the loss of federal funds and perhaps even its ROTC detachments.?