Feb. 28, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette:
For the past four years, the Virginia Military Institute has been truly fortunate to be led by Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins as its superintendent. General Wins came to the Institute as an accomplished and much decorated U.S. Army leader and a VMI alumnus who well understood the Institute’s history and mission and had a vision for its future.
On Feb. 28, theVMI board of visitors in a special session voted not to renew General Wins’ contract when it ends in June. This clearly and purely political action came just two days after Governor Youngkin had appointed two of the BOV members who voted to end that contract.
It is a shame that the Institute is losing a gifted leader whose strong military background speaks for itself, at a time when there is such a need for strength and continuity of purpose in higher education. It is a disgrace that the 10 board of visitors members who voted to end General Wins’ contract are turning their backs on the future of the Institute they are sworn to serve.
I speak as a child of VMI. My grandfather served the Institute as its superintendent during World War II, at a time when virtually the entire cadet corps went to battle for the cause of human freedom and dignity. They were of a different era from the cadets who fought in this nation’s Civil War. History teaches us that what is considered honorable in one era will not always remain so. The dead rest honorably. We must move forward. The only honorable possibility going forward now is for all of us to serve the cause of human freedom and dignity. The board of visitors has failed this crucial assignment. LISATRACY Rockbridge County
