VALEDICTORIAN AND U.S. SENATOR TO SPEAK In this edition . .. AT VMI COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES Faculty Members to Retire ..... 2 Reddings honored .................. 2 Eighteen Receive Awards ....... 3 Honor Society Inductions ....... 4 EE 1 00 years old ................... 4 Superintendent to speak ....... 5 Tabor wins second prize ........ 5 Cadets chosenfor internships 5 Nathan R. Pierpoint, class of 1998 valedictorian and Phil Gramm, U.S. Senator (Texas) will share the stage during commencement exercises to be held in Cameron Hall on May 16 at 11 a.m. Rogers on With Good Reason . 5 Senator Gramm will speak following the valedictorian's address. Pierpoint (see article page 7) was elected valedictorian by his classmates. VMl wins SC Outdoor Track ... 6 continued on page 6 Virginia Program at Oxford ... 7 WHITE NAMED AS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Promaji holds banquet ........... 7 Valedictorian ......................... 7 Awards convocation ............... 8 Scholarship Established ........ 8 Summer Session Schedule ..... 9 Investment Club banquet ....... 9 Summer Athletic Camps ........ 9 Pipes and Drums perform ...... 9 Publications Board Banquet .. 9 Potpourri ............................. 1 0 News Gazette photo. Faculty Receive Grants ........ 10 VMI superintendent Major General josiah Bunting has announced that Donald T. "Donny" White has been selected as the Institute's new Director of Intercollegiate ROTC corner ........................ 11 Athletics. White will assume his duties May 11. Brig. Gen. Mike Bozeman, has served as interim athletic director since january 8. Calendar of Events .............. 12 A former VMI cadet-athlete, coach, and faculty member, White returns to the Institute after serving six successful years as athletic director at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, Va. White guided the school's athletic program to unprecedented 1998-1999 Calendar ............ 12 achievement both on and off the field and led the efforts to improve funding and facilities for the school's athletic program. continued on page 4 2 The Institute Report May 14, 1998 Four Faculty Members to Retire Reddings honored at Banquet Lt. Col. Terri Wheaton Reddings, associate director of admissions, was recently honored by the Partnership for Academic Development and the African American Faculty and Staff Association of Radford University at their annual awards and recognition banquet. Reddings served at Radford University as assistant director of admissions from 1991-1996. She became the first female admissions officer at VMI in 1997. At the banquet, Reddings was saluted for her professional achievements as an educator and student affairs administrator in higher education. She was also honored for her professional leadership and contributions to fulfill the goal of equality of educational opportunity for men and women in higher education. In 1994, the African American Faculty and Staff association began a tradition of recognizing African American faculty, staff, and administrators, and student achievement. Later the tradition was expanded to include recognition of Retiring faculty: (left to right) Col. Thomas B. Gentry '44, MSgt. Sydney W. Hunte (ROTC instructor Radford University supporters and other retiring from the United States Army); Col. Fred C. Swope; Col. Edwin J. Goller; Col. Edward L. distinguished persons in the community. Claiborn Four veteran professors, with a cumulative total of 150 years as teachers, will retire at the end of this academic year. They have 126 years of service at VMI. Colonel Thomas B. Gentry (VMI '44) is the sole alumnus in the group and his 50 VMI PICNIC years on the faculty is second only to the 52-year tenure of Col. Francis Mallory in physics and mathematics, 1891-1943 and VMI's first superintendent Francis H. Smith, May18 who served in that capacity for 50 years. 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Gentry, one of only two faculty members to receive the prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award twice (1987 and 1996), was called into World War II service before completing his VMI degree. Subsequently, he earned a B.A. at Centre College, and the Institute granted him his VMI diploma in 1962. He earned masters and doctorates at the University of Kentucky in 1947 and '48, then took his first job as a teacher here q[/Jc lfnstitutc Jl{cport and spent his entire career in the Department of English and Fine Arts. Col. Fred C. Swope, department of biology, is a Rockbridge County native retiring Editor: .................................... Burton R. Floyd, III after 30 years at the Institute. Like Gentry, his entire teaching career has been at VMI. Supervising Editor: ................. Col. Mike Strickler He earned his B.S. at the University of Maryland and his doctorate at Michigan State Contributing writers: .......................... Chris Clark University. He rose to the rank of full professor in 1980. Tom Joynes Maj. Chuck Steenburgh With over 29 years at VMI and three years at Merrimack College in Massachusettes, Col. Edwin J. Goller retires from the chemistry department, which he joined in 1969. Printed by: The News-Gazette, Lexington, Va. Prior to teaching at Merrimack he earned his undergraduate degree there, then a masters The Institute f?eport ispublished billie VMI Public at Northeastern and a doctorate at the University of New Hampshire. Relations Office. E· · ssuesare.printed during the Col. Edward L. Claiborn, who served a lengthy eight-year term as department academic year. Inqu . ggestions, news items, head in economics and business, is the relative "newcomer" among the retirees. He or address chan · ou be <li(ected to Editor, The Institute Repo M1 PubliC }{elations Office, joined the faculty in 1981 as a full professor. He holds a bachelors degree from the Lexington, V~ilia 24,45Q-0~91-~ University of Idaho, and both masters and doctorate from Princeton University. A retired Air Force colonel, he taught for one year at Princeton, 16 years at the United States Air Telephone 540-464-7207 Fax 540-464-7583 Force Academy and four years at the University of California at Berkeley. E-mail: VMIReport@ vmi.edu The retirees were honored in a ceremony held May 1 in Jackson Memorial Hall. May 14, 1998 Virginia Military Institute 3 Eighteen Receive Awards at Annual Convocation Riethmiller awarded John C. Allen '62 Distinguished Professorship Eighteen members of the VMI family received honors at the annual Institute Awards Convocation held Wednesday April 29 in Cameron Hall. Cash prizes accompanying the awards totalled $68,000 the majority funded by the VMI Foundation, Inc. In addition, grants totalling $6,500 were bestowed. Among the honorees was Col. Steven Riethmiller, professor and head of the chemistry department. Col. Riethmiller received the john C. Allen Distinguished Professorship in Chemistry. The award includes a cash prize of $37,500 to be paid in annual installments over five years. The Allen Professorship was announced this spring and honors john C. Allen, VMI Class of 1962. It honors long­ time professors of the Institute who have dedicated their professional careers to the education of countless cadets. Mr. Allen pays his respects to Col. Riethmiller, so it is fitting that he be the first recipient. Col. Riethmiller graduated from VMI with a B.S. in chemistry and was appointed instructor (sub-professor) for the 1963-64 Receiving awards at VM/'s annual Awards Convocation were: (front row 1-r) Janchaysang academic year. Following that, he served Suwatwong '99, William B. Kincaid '99, Nicholas R. Wilk '98, Col. H. Francis Bush, Claudia M. for four years as a munitions officer in the Pirkle, Margaret A. "Peg" Alford, Janet H. Cummings, and Col. Michael M. Strickler '71. Second U.S. Air Force, married Margaret Watt row: Maj. Duncan J. Richter, Col. Henry D. Schreiber, Cdr John E. Riester, Jr. '78, Col. William D. Christian in October 1967, and returned Badgett '53, Maj. Robert L. McDonald, Col. Steven Riethmiller '63, LTC Thomas N. Meriwether, to VMI as an instructor of chemistry in and Brig. Gen. Michael L. Bozeman. Not pictured: LTC Thomas S. Baur '75 and Justin W. Douglas 1968. With the help of a VMI Faculty '99. Fellowship Award, he attended the University of South Carolina and received served as faculty advisor to graduating Lt. Col. Thomas S. Baur, associate his Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry in classes, Superintendent's Representative to professor of biology. Each carries a $3,000 1973. In the fall of 1973 he again returned the Honor Court, the Rat Disciplinary prize and an additional $2,000 grant to to VMI as an assistant professor with the Committee, and the Hop Committee, a be used for further academic growth. Col. rank of Major. He was promoted to member of the Cadet Activities Badgett also received the Distinguished associate professor/Lt. Colonel and Committee, a member of the Blue Book Teaching Award in 1982, and Lt. Col. Baur awarded tenure in 1976. In 1983 he was Revision Committee, a member of the received the Thomas jefferson Teaching promoted to Col./full professor, and he Athletic Committee as well as a participant Award in 1990. became head of the chemistry department in a number of FTX activities. He also Distinguished Service Awards: Three in 1994, a position he still holds. served as the Institute's representative to members of the VMI family, who have Over the years, his scholarly interests the VMI Foundation Board of Trustees. combined for 73 years at the Institute, have encompassed both fundamental Col. Riethmiller received a VMI received service awards. Those honored questions of chemical research and Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. He were Margaret A. "Peg" Alford, enrollment historical aspects of chemical discovery. developed and taught a new honors services specialist; janet H. Cummings, He has studied at research centers at the chemistry course titled "Chemistry in secretary for the modern languages University of South Carolina, at Edwards Cultural Context." He has been an advisor department; and Col. Michael M. Strickler, Air Force Base, California, and the to nearly all Rat chemistry majors since public relations director.