Former classmates of the Virginia Military Institute’s new leader are fighting back against his Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) push.
The New York Post reports:
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, 60, launched diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives after taking the helm of VMI in October 2020 … But ever since VMI introduced new DEI initiatives, a group of well-funded, mostly white conservative alumni from 1985 — the year Wins graduated — has led an all-out assault on the woke efforts, according to the Washington Post.
Ex-Marine Matt Daniel, 60, a fellow “brother rat,” as VMI classmates are known, founded a political action committee dubbed “Spirit of VMI” to fight the 183-year-old school’s new progressive efforts.
“Reject the woke assault on VMI. Close ranks,” one of the PAC’s websites declares, the newspaper reports.
Spirit of VMI has questioned why the school’s Board of Visitors awarded Wins a $100,000 bonus on top of his annual salary of $656,000 — despite a 25 percent drop in enrollment.
The PAC supported the election of Governor Glenn Youngkin and has also celebrated their influence in recommending “two of VMI’s four new board members appointed by Youngkin.”