by Giovanna Johnson
A frustrated group of Virginia Military Institute alumni, some of whom have previously spoken out against the institution’s growing embrace of DEI, have taken on a new battle.
The disgruntled alumni have filed a civil rights lawsuit against VMI Alumni Agencies, arguing the relationship between the official alma mater organization and the institute itself is inappropriate, that school leaders have too much control over it.
The alumni agency was founded in 1842 and is the oldest public college alumni association in the country, the lawsuit states.
The complaint outlines that the original purpose of the alumni group was to “to preserve associations, friendships, and memories of cadet life,” but over time, as more money has been raised through the VMIAA and another charitable organization, the VMI Foundation, VMI has increasingly relied on them for funding.
“On average, the VMIAA and Foundation contribute approximately $27,000,000.00 per year to VMI, which represents 38 percent-50 percent of VMI’s operating yearly budget and is more than the amount contributed by the state,” the lawsuit contends.
That is why campus leaders essentially took it over, and the two are now “indistinguishable and are wholly dependent upon one another for existence,” it added, arguing that means the alumni group does not benefit its members, but rather the school.
In recent years, the lawsuit contends, VMI Alumni Agencies has unlawfully suspended members and improperly amended its Articles of Incorporation and bylaws, among other allegations.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges VMI Alumni Agencies has unlawfully enacted a policy to remove and discipline VMIAA members in its “sole discretion” outside of the jurisdiction of the Articles of Incorporation, and has “unlawfully utilized such policy to silence members of the VMIAA who question the management or direction” of the group, including of some of the plaintiffs.
“What began as an association of VMI graduates to remember life at VMI and to support fellow alumni has become a marketing and moneymaking machine for VMI,” the lawsuit alleges.
Reached for comment, a VMI spokesperson told The College Fix it does not comment on pending litigation.
Attorney Paul Curley, who represents the plaintiffs, told The College Fix the suit is about the “lack of the democratic process and the taking over of the alumni association by the state.”
“VMI is a state agency,” he said.
The lawsuit seeks to return the members’ rights in the process of choosing their board of directors, “because right now, their voice has been taken away,” Curley said.
Curley said that the plaintiffs “want what’s best for VMI at the end of the day, but they don’t like that their freedom of speech has been infringed upon.”
The complaint intends to address the “pervasively entwined and engaged … symbiotic” relationship between the two and restore “lawful and rightful control” of the alumni group to its members. It was filed June 10.
The VMI Alumni Association said it plans to vigorously defend itself, and described the plaintiffs as a “small group of alumni.” The suit lists 28 plaintiffs.
“The VMI Alumni Association denies it acted inappropriately or has violated any [of] the plaintiffs’ rights,” the group said via email.
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College Fix contributor Giovanna Johnson is a student at Gordon College in Massachusetts studying political science. She is a senior editor of the student publication The Gordon Review, and her writing has appeared on Future Female Leaders and her blog Sustained By Grace.
Photo “Virginia Military Institute” by Virginia Military Institute.
