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Virginia Military Institute’s first chief diversity officer has resigned.
VMI Superintendent Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins notified cadets, faculty, and staff of Jamica Love’s resignation last Thursday.
Love began her duties on post in July 2021.
In his message to cadets and staff, Wins said, “Love has served the Institute with distinction since she arrived on post …” He continued, “She has been singularly focused on preparing our cadets for the world which they will enter after graduation and making VMI an inclusive institution for any interested and qualified cadet, faculty, or staff member. Love has been an exemplar of professionalism and her expertise and positive attitude will be greatly missed.”
Love had been hired just before the completion of an investigation ordered by former Gov. Ralph Northam the previous fall into the culture and practices at VMI. The report found that institutional racism and sexism were “present, tolerated, and left unaddressed” at the school.
While the school has taken a number of steps to improve the culture at the school since then, some of the college’s alumni have attacked the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the Washington Post noted in its article on Love’s resignation last week.
VMI this spring changed the name of Love’s office from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to “Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion” to match the title of state diversity office under Governor Youngkin.
Love’s resignation was announced only weeks after Youngkin’s chief diversity officer, Martin Brown, claimed that “DEI is dead” to members of VMI staff and faculty at its annual inclusiveness training. He called for the school’s staff to help cultivate a less “divisive” society. His comments were condemned by the state NAACP chapter.
In Wins’ letter to cadets and staff, he wrote, “Moving forward, the Virginia Military Institute remains committed to the three principles set forth by the Board of Visitors in July 2020: to create and foster a more diverse VMI; to create and foster a safe, equitable, and inclusive environment for all on post; and to assure that we maintain a safe, rigorous process for escalating issues which have even the potential to violate the Code of a Cadet.
“I will use this change in staffing as an opportunity to reevaluate how best to achieve these principles in a manner that is unique to VMI’s needs and preserves the fundamentals of the VMI experience,” he continued.
For the time being, Maj. Briana Williams will be filling Love’s position as the interim chief diversity officer.
