After renaming DEI office, VMI board shifts oversight of ‘inclusive excellence’

VMI grad, state senator questions board’s bylaw change

BY: NATHANIEL CLINE
SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
5:22 AM

As the Virginia Military Institute’s Board of Visitors awaits the state Supreme Court’s determination on the future of several gubernatorial appointments, the governing board has continued its duties, including making recent, significant changes to its bylaws and modifying the board’s responsibilities relating to diversity and inclusion.

The changes, which also included reassigning mental health oversight responsibilities, come amid pushback by conservatives who oppose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, specifically in schools, and after the school renamed its DEI office in 2023. … “This is all a routine review of the bylaws, which we do regularly to ensure clarity and compliance with any legal updates,” Sherry Wallace, a VMI spokesperson, replied when asked to clarify the rationale for the changes.

The board moved the responsibilities of “mental and physical health” and “diversity and inclusion” from its Cadet and Personnel Affairs Committee to the renamed Operations and Personnel Affairs Committee.

The committee’s responsibilities now state it “shall have oversight of all matters related to human resources, classified and administrative/professional faculty compensation, inspector general, Title IX, inclusive excellence, information technology, VMI police, and post safety, security, and emergency management.”

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NATHANIEL CLINE
Nathaniel is an award-winning journalist who's been covering news across the country since 2007, including politics at The Loudoun Times-Mirror and The Northern Neck News in Virginia as well as sports for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also hosted podcasts, worked as a television analyst for Spectrum Sports, and appeared as a panelist for conferences and educational programs. A graduate of Bowie State University, Nathaniel grew up in Hawaii and the United Kingdom as a military brat. Five things he must have before leaving home: his cellphone, Black Panther water bottle, hand sanitizer, wedding ring and Philadelphia Eagles keychain.

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