LEXINGTON, Va. – Just days after opposing House Bill 1374, VMI Superintendent Lt. General David Furness is now backing it.
“I stand in support of the bill,” Furness said during a House Committee of Education hearing Wednesday.
That’s because the bill is nearly unrecognizable from what it was a week ago.
“We’ve made significant adjustments to it in this amendment phase,” Furness said.
The original bill proposed dissolving VMI’s board of visitors and placing the institute under the board of Virginia State University.
But Delegate Michael Feggans stood before the House Committee on Education on Wednesday with a substitute version of that bill.
“The substitute removes mentions of VSU and focuses on the board of visitors and governance,” Feggans said.
The change comes after Delegate Feggans took a weekend visit to VMI.
“There’s something unique about a military training environment. The discipline, the preparedness, and the pride that you see in the young men and women preparing to serve. I saw that same energy at VMI. I enjoyed seeing the focus and the purpose on their faces. It reinforced how important these environments are to our leadership development,” Feggans said.
Feggans says he appreciates the professionalism and open dialogue from the institute, but there’s more work to be done.
“Their leadership has acknowledged the troubling findings that were identified in 2021, and have committed to continued improvement. Those efforts matter, and we appreciate the conversations, but there is still much work to be done,” Feggans said.
Under the substitute, the total number of board members would stay the same, but would cap the number of alumni at eight.
It also requires at least six members to have senior military experience.
“This ensures meaningful military representation, while maintaining balanced civilian oversight,” Feggans said.
Feggans says the bill has always been about governance - not a takeover.
“It’s about whether the board of visitors structure aligns in a way to maximize what is needed at VMI today,” he said.
The bill now heads to the full House of Delegates for a vote.