Editorial
It would be wonderful if we could figure out a way to take politics out of the governance of Virginia’s colleges and universities. In recent years, politicians have meddled in the affairs of several Virginia institutions of higher education. The University of Virginia’s president was forced out last year because of the university’s policies on diversity, equity and inclusion. A similar but unsuccessful effort targeted the president of George Mason University.
A similar story played out last year when members of Virginia Military Institute’s board of visitors chose not to renew the contract of Superintendent Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, who by most accounts was doing a fantastic job in leading his alma mater. Appointed in 2020, when VMI was plagued by controversy surrounding incidents of overt acts of racism on post, Wins, VMI’s first African American superintendent in its 186-year history, led efforts to clean up this mess.
He also turned around a downturn in applications, oversaw increases in fundraising and capital improvements and generally restored order to the storied institution. However, his efforts to lead VMI into the 21st century rankled some influential alumni who were apparently more interested in preserving the college’s connection to the Confederacy’s Lost Cause mythology. These disaffected alumni were able to persuade recently departed Gov. Glenn Youngkin to appoint members to the VMI board of visitors who shared these views. The result was the unfortunate ouster of Wins.
It’s not surprising that newly inaugurated Gov. Abigail Spanberger is trying to right these grievous wrongs by quickly moving to appoint new members of VMI’s board of visitors who will lead VMI in a positive direction. Among these appointees is former Gov. Ralph Northam, a VMI alumnus and Youngkin’s predecessor who launched the 2020 investigation that substantiated allegations of racism at VMI.
It’s also not surprising that there are other efforts in the General Assembly this session to take extreme action to root out any remnants of racism at VMI. One bill that’s been introduced would create a task force to study the notion of whether VMI should even continue to receive state funding. Another bill would dissolve VMI’s board of visitors and put the governance of the school under the board of a historically Black college in Chesterfield County, Virginia State University.
We’re hopeful that neither of these pieces of legislation will get very far but we understand the motivations of the bills’sponsors. Both patrons of the bills are respected veterans of the U.S. military who were greatly offended at the misguided attempts to excuse or even support racism at a state-supported military college.
It is a real shame that extremist politics have sullied Virginia’s institutions of higher learning. Whether at the federal or state level, declaring war on DEI initiatives that were intended to right past wrongs and end discrimination is an example of political intrusion into higher education at its ugliest. It is indeed fortunate that the new governor is trying to rectify these wrongs.
