Virginia Military Institute governance bill advances without Virginia State University oversight

Legislation addressing the future governance of Virginia Military Institute is advancing in the state House of Delegates but now without Virginia State University in the picture.

On a 14-7 party-line vote Feb. 11, the House Education Committee approved House Bill 1374 that significantly changes the composition of VMI’s board of visitors and keeps the policy decision-making in Lexington. The updated measure, sponsored by Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, requires no more than eight of the 16 appointees be VMI alumni and at least five appointees have U.S. military experience.

The bill’s original version, with VSU as the projected governor of VMI, drew immediate scrutiny, including from President Donald Trump. The legislation did not appear to have traction even from Feggans’ fellow Democrats who had been pushing for changes over allegations of racial bias at VMI. Those claims were boosted by the school’s February 2025 decision to not renew the contract of Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, the first Black superintendent in VMI’s 187-year history.

Senate Democrats in 2025 blocked appointments to the VMI board by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin, saying the Republican governor’s choices catered to the school’s generally conservative alumni donors. Last month, Virginia’s new governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, offered five new appointees that included former Gov. Ralph Northam, a VMI alumni.

How the measure was changed

In testimony before the committee, Feggans said he met last weekend with VMI administrators and cadets and was satisfied that the school was willing to address allegations of being too steeped in the Confederate history of VMI.

“But there is still much work to be done, particularly in terms of how the institute memorializes those who helped shepherd and elevates the hidden figures who are not named in VMI’s history,” Feggans said. “VMI must continue to push forward in those areas and ensure that its direction is not steered away by powerful vocal groups resistant to continued progress.”

The bill does not change the number of VMI’s board members, Feggans noted, but it reflects trends at other public state-supported colleges where alumni and others with ties to their schools’ overall mission have been appointed to their governing boards.

“This ensures meaningful military representation while maintaining balanced civilian oversight,” Feggans told the committee. “This is about balance, alignment, ensuring that the governance supports continued progress.”

A 17th member of the VMI board would be the state’s adjutant general, but that position would have no voting power.

Unclear why VSU was suggested

Virginia State, a traditionally Black university two and a half hours east of Lexington in Chesterfield County, would have become VMI’s governing board under Feggans’s original bill. Democrats, including Spanberger, were reticent to offer public support for the legislation, while critics cited the different missions of the two universities.

Feggans never publicly disclosed why he suggested VSU, nor would any legislators contacted by The Progress-Index offer any speculation. VSU is the closest majority Black public college to VMI.

A subcommittee of the House Education Committee heard testimony on HB 1374 on Feb. 2 but delayed acting on it after a large majority of speakers at the meeting did not support it. The Virginia NAACP was the only group to publicly back it.

The bill as originally written drew criticism from the Trump administration, who promised “extraordinary measures” if the General Assembly tinkered with VMI’s autonomy.

VMI pleased with the final version

The only other person to speak at Wednesday’s committee meeting was Lt. Gen. Dave Furness, VMI’s superintendent. Furness cited the positive feeling all parties received from last weekend’s meeting.

“I stand in support of the bill,” Furness said. “We’ve made significant adjustments to it in this amendment phase, and I look forward to working with a new board structure as we move ahead.”

As a show of transparency, Furness invited all members to “come to Lexington, kick the tires and see what your hard-earned tax dollars are actually doing.”

The measure now moves to the floor of the House of Delegates.

Reporting by Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index / The Progress-Index